7-Eleven’s Mobile Coupon Trial Improves Scan Accuracy, Raises Marketing Ethics Questions
Written by Evan SchumanThe chain has thus far avoided some of the read-rate accuracy problems that have plagued other trials (A&P last month swore off scanning directly from cell phone screens due to concerns about inaccuracies), pointing to an approach that determines the make, model and carrier of a phone before trying to scan. It then adjusts the scan parameters to be the most effective for that particular device. But 7-Eleven is also running smack into the delicate ethics issues around mobile marketing, where chains need to collect phone numbers and E-mail addresses to begin. In this case, for example, many of the consumers being targeted are children, officially as young as 16 and potentially as young as 14. Those youngsters are mixed with a target group of young adults, as old as 24.
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I have strong reservations about the 'individual' certification and posting of that information for merchants. Can you imagine the potential employee poaching that might occur? The implications when competitors can look up how many are certified with each of their competitors? 
-Christine
