News

In-mall mobile retail solution StepsAway expands footprint into 10 new malls

Major retailers such as GNC and Things Remembered are extending StepsAway engagement to drive more brick-and-mortar transactions.

March 5, 2015

Mobile retail firm StepsAway has announced an agreement with Starwood Retail Partners that it said will expand StepsAway's multistate footprint in major metropolitan areas, bringing its mobile retail solution to 10 Starwood properties across the U.S.

"The recent holiday shopping season undoubtedly proved that mobile was a powerful force in connecting shoppers with real, in-store experiences and influencing mall purchases while consumers are 'stepsaway' from retailers," said Allan Haims, CEO of StepsAway. "We are thrilled to partner with an innovative, fast-growth developer like Starwood Retail Partners that is staying ahead of the digital curve in bridging shoppers with time-sensitive, in-malls deals directly on their mobile devices."

With deployment completed in February, the StepsAway mobile solution will provide shoppers smartphone access to hyperlocal in-store deals — driving more brick-and-mortar transactions, the companies said. Accessible via malls' Wi-Fi networks, the browser-based StepsAway app empowers mall owners to increase sales per square foot and gives mall retailers a time-sensitive opportunity to influence consumer purchase decisions at their closest point of sale — when they are steps away from the retailer's lease line.

Built on a patent-pending, cloud-based platform, StepsAway's retailer publisher tool SAConnect allows retailers to create and deliver promotions across multiple mall properties from their corporate headquarters via a single platform. The tool also supports dynamic promotions, allowing retailers to make real-time adjustments based on fluctuating store inventory levels or sales trends.

From the consumer side, shoppers simply sign onto the mall's free Wi-Fi network and then peruse deals via StepsAway's SAMobile app by product category or store name. The browser-based app is compatible on any Wi-Fi enabled device including all Apple, Android and Windows mobile devices.