Author: BWild

Flomio takes feedback from Kickstarter to develop new NFC device for the iPhone

Flomio, a technology and mobile commerce startup based in Florida, attracted attention last month when it announced it was working to bring NFC technology to the iOS platform. Earlier this year, rumors suggested that Apple’s new iPhone 5 would be equipped with NFC technology that would allow consumers to participate in mobile commerce. This was not the case, and Apple has been harshly criticized for its decision to abandon NFC technology. This has, however, created an opportunity for companies like Flomio to bring the technology to the platf0orm.

FloCase inspired by feedback from supporters

Flomio has been working on a product called the FloJack, which can be plugged into an iPhone and provide it with NFC capabilities. The company turned to popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to get the financial backing it needed for the project. Once on Kickstarter, however, the project began to evolve thanks to the feedback Flomio received. Now, the company has introduced the FloCase, a new way to provide the iPhone with NFC capabilities.

FloCase gives the iPhone NFC capabilities

The FloCase is designed as a simple, yet sturdy case for the iPhone. The case itself is equipped with an NFC chip that will allow the iPhone to send and receive NFC transmissions. With this case, iPhone owners can participate in mobile commerce, as long as they have a mobile wallet application installed on their smart phone. They will also be able to participate in marketing, sales, and entertainment campaigns that make use of the technology.

Flomio not the first to build an NFC-enabled case for smart phones

Flomio is not the first company to develop an NFC-enabled case for smart phones. The iPhone device is not the only smart phone that does not include NFC technology, thus other companies have developed cases for the myriad devices that have no NFC capabilities. This has helped spread the prevalence of mobile commerce by making mobile transactions much more convenient to those that do not have access to NFC-enabled mobile devices.

There is a demographic that is broadly using these barcodes and marketers should target accordingly.

Though QR codes got to a slow start in terms of their use by consumers, despite their broad implementation by brands and marketers, the Millennial demographic has now embraced them and is using them quite regularly.

The key is to make sure that when you market with QR codes, you focus on the right age group.

Millennials are, after all, the demographic among whom the smartphone has the greatest penetration. They are tech savvy and use their mobile devices for many of their everyday tasks and communications. They are also used to the regular introduction of new features, technologies, and uses for their gadgets. Therefore, it is only natural for them to easily accept the use of barcode scanning, and the app download and snap the image to scan the code.

At the latest Business Insider’s Mobile Advertising Conference, Jason Wagenheim, the publisher and vice president of Teen Vogue, told those in attendance that 42 percent of the readership of the magazine is currently scanning the QR codes printed among its pages.

Teen QR code scans have increased by 133 percent in a period of 18 months.

Similarly, the Mr. Youth managing partner and senior vice president of account and strategy service, Melissa Lentz, has agreed with Wagenheim’s statement that QR code scanning is important and growing. Her statistics show that 46 percent of Millennials use product bar code scanning as an factor in their shopping experience, as they search for better deals on the internet.

This makes it not only very important for marketers whose target audience is Millennials to begin the use of QR codes as a part of their overall marketing strategies, and to make sure that those barcodes actually work. If they cannot be scanned properly, then it will taint the entire opinion of the Millennial.

Mobile commerce changing very quickly. Where it would have been exceptionally challenging and involved to accomplish a simple goal a couple of years ago, the same task can be completed in hardly a blink nowadays. With an evolution at this speed, it is important to keep on top of the latest consumer behaviors and trends, to help to make sure that the right moves are being made and that they align with the current and likely future direction of m-commerce.

Moreover, Millennials have certain expectations about the redirection from their scans. They don’t simply want to be brought to the standard mobile website homepage. Instead, they want to gain access to content that is exclusive and easy to use.