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Stores using technology to lure holiday shoppers

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Thanksgiving is two weeks away, and that means two weeks until holiday shopping kicks into high gear. This year, stores have some new ways to lure shoppers in the door.

It’s all about your smartphone, this year more than ever. About half of millennials say they’ll be using their phone to shop this holiday season, and retailers are figuring out how to take advantage of that.

Wal-Mart, for example, is posting all its deals online, at 12:01 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. In-store deals don’t start until 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Wal-Mart expects about 75 percent of its holiday traffic to be online this year. But still, experts say it’s important for retailers to get customers in store.

24-Hour News 8 talked to a professor at Kelley School of Business who says some retailers are finding a sweet spot this year, by using mobile to make in-store shopping easier.

“Having mobile friendly devices or applications having the technology when people walk into the store to open your smartphone and you can see specials. You can find where things are located, you get some kind of bonus for actually being in store. That’s huge,” said Kim Donahue with the Kelley School of Business.

Target has started doing just that with its cartwheel app. Almost as soon as shoppers get in the parking lot, coupons will pop up on their phone. Wal-Mart is using its app to make it easier for shoppers to find where deals are located in-store. It’s also using mobile check-in for people who order online, and pick up in store so the process goes faster.

Social media is also changing the way we shop. It’s not only about getting “likes” from your friends online, but also from strangers in the store.

Stores are also making it easier for shoppers to use their apps, to share what they’re buying with friends. Donahue said that’s because millennials are so focused on social media.

The “Facebook mentality” is translating to in-store purchases as well.

“There are now hangers for clothing where people can push on the hangar if they like or dislike and then as other people come thru they see how many likes this outfit would have,” said Donahue.

eBay is tapping into a similar idea this year too. To unlock holiday deals on Thanksgiving Day, shoppers will have to crowdsource votes. They’ll all vote on which deal or product they like best, and then those votes will eventually unlock deals for popular products.

Donahue said millennials could be responsible for some stores staying closed on Thanksgiving–or, like REI, closing on Black Friday. She said millennials, as a generation, seem to be more focused on relationships, instead of making money.