Crate & Barrel’s Move To Instantly Launch Mobile Chain-Wide Says Good Things About Mobile Maturity
Written by Evan SchumanDecember 15th, 2010
: Furniture and housewares retailer Crate & Barrel made its mobile move on Monday (Dec. 13), confirming that it will be rolling out mobile check-in devices at all of the chain's 160 U.S. stores. The most interesting part of this announcement, though, is something that might say more about mobile acceptance than about the chain's strategy. Instead of the typical handful-of-stores trial followed by a wider rollout and then perhaps a chain-wide expansion, Crate & Barrel announced that it's committing to a chain-wide effort immediately.
To at least get a sliver of silver bells in for 2010, the chain is rushing to get the mobile devices activated by Saturday (Dec. 18) at its stores in the Chicago and New York metro areas. The rest of the chain will kick in by February 2011, according to a statement from Shopkick, the vendor handling the mobile deployment.
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