ZagMe mobile phone service is ‘a success’

ZagMe, the location-sensitive mobile-phone advertising operator, claims that a trial of the medium in shopping centres has led to redemption rates of up to 20 per cent.

The trial of the mobile-phone shopping service has taken place at the Lakeside and Bluewater shopping centres and has involved more than 150 retailers.

During the first 12 weeks, more than 33,000 visitors to the shopping centres signed up to the service, which alerts shoppers by SMS messaging to offers while they shop.

Eighteen to 24-year-olds – the heaviest users of SMS – accounted for half of the ZagMe subscriber base. Customers in the 25to 34-year-old age group were the biggest spenders, with an average transaction value of &£18 per person.

Sports goods carried the highest average transaction value of &£51, followed by the fashion sector with &£30.

ZagMe claims that during the trial, 30 per cent of subscribers re-activated the service when they revisited the shopping centre and of these, more than 40 per cent activated it more than four times.

ZagMe hopes to sign up two further shopping centres shortly. It is also looking for a sponsor for its SMS-based free lottery ZagLotto, which is designed to retain subscribers’ interest in ZagMe while they are away from the shopping environment.