As retailers and shoppers prep for the 2014 holiday season, consumers are more willing to make purchases online and are looking for easier ways to keep up with their coupons, causing a turn to mobile wallet solutions to encourage more seamless purchases and savings abilities. Macy’s, a retailer known for its push towards innovative mobile technology, will likely see strong usage of its digital wallet given its simplistic appeal and the expected surge in shopping in the coming months.

“Macy’s mobile wallet solution is a great first step,” said Alex Campbell, co-founder and CIO at Vibes, Chicago. “I love seeing brands and retailers trying out mobile wallets through their apps.

“Through Macy’s implementation, users can get their content all from one place and do not have to remember which offers or promotions are current. At Vibes, we’re big on initial launches followed by development.

“Macy’s can add to its mobile wallet as it goes once it sees how its customers will use the tool. In my opinion, any experimentation with mobile wallets is on the right track.”

Digital solutions
Macy’s My Wallet allows users to manage their payment options, deals and promotions and can be used when shopping online or in-store when using a Macy’s credit card. To access deals and promotions, customers can visit the Deals and Promotions page on Macy’s Web site, which can be directly saved onto users’ wallets.

While only certain offers can be saved on the wallet, the retailer is working to make more compatible offers in the future.

When users are prepping to make a purchase via the app or Web site, they will be met with an option to pay using My Wallet on the checkout page while shopping online or via their mobile devices.

Users shopping in-store can use My Wallet by using their Macy’s credit card.

Any credit cards previously used and saved on macys.com will be available on My Wallet, and users can add up to 10 cards to the wallet.

Coupons collected in My Wallet will be flagged 48 hours prior to when they are scheduled to expire. Once expired, the coupons will be automatically removed.

Macy’s app users can access the mobile wallet through their account and by following a short procedure. My Wallet has no fees and automatically adds Star Passes when users add their credit card to their profile, encouraging a use of the retailer’s personal credit card for frequent buyers.

Star Passes will be sent via postal service as usual, but users will not need to manually add them onto the wallet, as they will be done automatically.

My Wallet ensures security by automatically logging out users after 30 minutes of inactivity, preventing from an undesired use of the tool if users’ misplaced their phones.

Users can add their MasterCard, Discover, Visa and American Express credit cards onto My Wallet.

In the works
During a conference in 2013, A Macy’s executive at the NRF 102nd Annual Convention & Expo said that mobile needed to be customized and personalized, meaning that the medium intertwines into every part of a marketing strategy.

Although mobile wallets were still new for Macy’s at the time, it was an area that the company was testing with initiatives that included working with Google Wallet and Isis (see story).

Most recently, the retailer is channeling mobile through a fall campaign.

Macy’s partnered with Fashion Rocks for its fall campaign with mobile playing a key role by enabling live shopping during the event for the first time.

The retailer is the official fashion partner for Fashion Rocks, which will take place Sept. 9. During the event, viewers will be able to shop for the fashions presented during the runway portion of the show from their mobile phones either through the Shazam application or by going directly to the site macys.com/fashionrocks (see story).

Macy’s can only benefit from a continuous push towards mobile collaborations and implementations.

“Smart phone users who are pulling out their phones while in-store are looking to pay. We call this mission-driven devices,” Mr. Campbell said. “In this case, mobile wallet solutions make it very easy for customers to pay.”

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York