We may have just finished celebrating ringing in the New Year, but we’re just about to start celebrating new technological advances and problems being solved by technology companies in 2013.  These past few years have truly been remarkable, as mobile devices continue to have faster processing speeds, improved geo location services, mobile payment options, and cameras that rival point and shoot options. Best of all, these advances in technology are only the beginning – especially for new movements. SoLoMo is short for a movement bringing social, local, and mobile together. The concept of a personalized experience curated by brands and merchants based on location is certainly here and thriving today.

For a consumer, mobile devices now offer ways of receiving personalized information in real time based on their location. This process was previously lent to searching via a desktop before departing for your destination, offering limited options as to what you’re searching for and little or no options for the retailer to connect with you. Whether you’re within a retailer’s location, walking by it, or in the vicinity – your mobile device acts as a butler that services you with information on what’s going on in your area. Perhaps you’ve shopped at a retailer before that you’re half a block away from. That retailer can now send you a notification with a promotion thanking you for your loyalty should you choose to shop there again. Want to see reviews and ratings for a restaurant you can’t decide on from people in your demographic or maybe even from your friends, or purchase an item directly from your mobile device to avoid standing in line? You can do those things too. This experience will only continue to improve in 2013 as products are released that incorporate technology into wearable items. The Pebble Smart Watch is a wearable device that receives notifications and alerts from your mobile device right onto your wrist, meaning you never have to reach for your device from your pocket. Google Glass incorporates augmented reality and the capabilities of your mobile device in its wearable glasses. These are only some of the technologies being worked on and released in 2013.


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For retailers, there are now outlets and services being offered that easily allow them to reach and connect with the consumer, closing this loop between the retailer and consumer. Reaching loyal customers, rewarding people for word of mouth referrals and communicating a retailer’s products and services are becoming less of a scattered and daunting task. Tools available to retailers today provide more insights to consumer habits and preferences than ever before, and most importantly a dynamic and digital voice.

The idea of SoLoMo is certainly not without its shortcomings as technology is still trying to catch up with the ideas and goals of individuals and companies within SoLoMo, but it’s certainly an exciting time as things you could only imagine in sci-fi movies a few years ago are here today.
 

Michael Szewczyk is the President of Kapture, a mobile application that instantly rewards individuals for taking and sharing photos of products and services they love with their friends via social media. Kapture turns anyone taking a photo into a brand ambassador, allowing merchants, businesses and brands to benefit from the billions of photos taken and shared monthly via social media. The Kapture platform especially empowers brands, as photos taken via Kapture are transformed into a beautiful Polaroid which prominently features the brand’s logo watermarked on the photo. For sharing a Kapture moment via Twitter or Facebook, users are instantly rewarded with items ranging from discounts to physical goods – which they can redeem instantly, save for redemption at a later date, or gift to their friends.