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Wal-Mart Shoppers
Save With Cellphones #WMT Service Developed By Dallas-based AT&T
By KEVIN COKELY
Updated 8:50 AM CDT,
Tue, Apr 14, 2009
Related Topics: Wal-Mart
Stores Inc.
KXAS
Free mobile service at
Wal-Mart provides savings alerts & product information.
Wal-Mart wants you to
use your cell phone inside it's stores.
Walmart Wants to Help
Shoppers Save Some Green
New service helps shoppers
look for bargains on their cell phones.
A free mobile service
called #WMT allows Wal-Mart shoppers to learn about deep discounts, and
read product reviews right there in the store.
"Everything we do at
Wal-Mart is to help our customers save money," said Dennis Arnold with
Wal-Mart.
Shoppers who sign up
for #WMT get up to three text message alerts a week about Wal-Mart's "Rollback
Prices" and other store specials.
"Getting the email on
what's on sale and stuff, I think it's great," said Melissa Jandal of Dallas.
Jandal, the mother of
five children added its "time saving" because the alerts will let her know
when to stop by the store.
Dallas-based AT&T
developed the free mobile service, the first of its kind in the retail
industry.
Wal-Mart shoppers with
a working cell phone from any one of the major U-S wireless service providers
can sign up for #WMT.
"Wal-Mart wanted to make
this available to all of it's customers," said Sarah Andreani, AT&T
spokesperson.
#WMT started last year
as a pilot program called "Simple Meal Ideas".
Developed in partnership
with Kraft, #MEALS offered Wal-Mart shoppers recipes and other information.
"It tells you what exactly
is needed in that recipe, the items, where to purchase it, where to find
it in the stores" said Arnold.
The #MEALS service is
currently off-line, while AT&T and Wal-Mart work on future enhancements
to the program.
With #WMT, Wal-Mart shoppers
can get information and product review on virtually anything in the store,
just by entered the item's Universal Product Code or UPC.
A mother of two, three
year old boys, Taylor Schmidt of Richardson likes the product review feature.
"If you were gonna buy
a blu-ray player or tv, or a big ticket item, i think it would be a great
idea," said Schmidt.
A recent survey conducted
by Wal-Mart found 44 percent of #WMT users purchased something based on
the price alerts.
"I think it would get
me to come back to the store more also if they sent me a text that something,
you know, was on sale," said Schmidt. "Especially something that I use
more."
You can sign up for the
free service by dialing #WMT on your mobile phone, or by registering here. |
