I’m Director of Product Management.

2. What is your favorite part of working for AisleBuyer?

The people, the technology, the energy and the close proximity to Starbuck’s.

3. What is your favorite mobile app and why?

Words with Friends.  I’m totally addicted.  I like the competitive nature of it, but I’m terrible haha.

4. If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

I can live without beer, I can’t live without wine, BUT I am partial to Belgiums.

5. If you had your own hot sauce, what would you name it?

Hot Mess.

6. Of the AisleBuyer team, who would you like to be Beirut partners with the most? The least?

The most:  Well, based on last week’s showing, I would absolutely like to be partners with Shannon.

The least:  And least with Casey.

7. Would you rather live the rest of your life without music or dessert of any kind?

Without dessert—no question.

8. Describe your personal style in one word.

Versatile.

9. Describe your perfect Saturday afternoon in exactly seven words.

Sleeping in late, wine tasting in Bordeaux.

10. Would you rather have hair that never stops growing or fingernails and toenails that never stop growing and why?

EW.

11. Make up a word that describes or embodies your life philosophy.

Funzo.

12. If you were a superhero, what would your super power and name be?

Teleportation and I don’t need a name, everyone knows me as Helen.

13. What is your guilty pleasure TV show?

There are so many:  Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, Smallville before it went off the air, every HBO and Showtime series.

This will be our second year at the BIG Show. In 2011, we waded into the BIG Show waters with a small booth, but a big presence, and had a great show. This year, we’re expanding our presence in every way possible: bigger booth, bigger crew and BIGGER presence!

Though I can’t give too much away, I can tell you that we’ll be showing off the AisleBuyer mobile commerce platform and applications like we never have before. We’re trying to create an engaging experience that will truly showcase the unique and well, cool factor of everything we’ve been working on. And yes, for those of you wondering, there will be a game happening at our booth, along with some awesome prizes, which I know is appealing to all you competitive retail folks out there!

We’ll be hanging out at booth #2937 on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Will you be heading to NYC next week for the show? Drop us a line and let us know, or just stop by the booth to see what’s “in-store” for mobile in 2012!

Happy Friday and welcome to the first weekly update extravaganza for 2012!  With the wrap-up of the holiday shopping season and the beginning of the new year (and new spending budgets for retailers!), there’s been a ton of talk about what worked in 2011 and will work in 2012.  Check out some of the articles that caught our eye surrounding these trends!

What are YOUR predictions for 2012?!  Who do you believe will define the mCommerce space?  And what will the big trends be?  We want to hear from you!  Leave your thoughts in the comments!

*Graph courtesy of GigaOM

]]> http://blog.aislebuyer.com/2012/01/weekly-update-extravaganza-16/feed/ 0 http://blog.aislebuyer.com/2012/01/aislebuyer-at-ces/ http://blog.aislebuyer.com/2012/01/aislebuyer-at-ces/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:27:35 +0000 Sarah http://blog.aislebuyer.com/?p=2085 Good morning, folks!  The first week of 2012 is well underway, and this year is already proving to be an exciting time for those of us in the mobile technology world.

In fact, the AisleBuyer crew is very pleased to share that Andrew Paradise, our CEO and Founder, will be speaking at the 2012 International CES next week in Las Vegas, Nevada!  CES, the International Consumer Electronics Show, is the world’s largest technology-related tradeshow put on each year by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).  Andrew will be speaking at Tuesday’s panel titled:  Mobile Payment Basics:  How the Technology Works.

The panel, which also includes execs from Visa, PayPal, Ericcson and the Double Diamond Group, will discuss the positive and negative outlooks for retail companies looking to develop a mobile payment solution, and how near-field communications will be a game-changing, driving force behind the growing “digital wallet” movement.

If you’ll be at CES and are interested in getting the tech scoop on mobile payments, the session details are below:

When: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 10-11a.m. PT

Where: The Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, meeting room N260

Are you heading to CES next week? What are you most excited to see? Leave it in the comments!

1. What do you do at AisleBuyer?

I am the Executive Assistant.

2. What is your favorite part of working for AisleBuyer?

I like the people and the atmosphere here.

3. What is your favorite mobile app and why?

Probably Words with Friends.  I play with all my friends and everyone in my family.

4. If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

Coors Light.

5. If you had your own hot sauce, what would you name it?

Oh my god, I don’t eat hot sauce.

6. Of the AisleBuyer team, who would you like to be Beirut partners with the most? The least?

I haven’t played yet; I don’t know!

7. Would you rather live the rest of your life without music or dessert of any kind?

I love both things, but I would probably live without dessert and it would be a very difficult life.

8. Describe your personal style in one word.

Open-minded.

9. Describe your perfect Saturday afternoon in exactly seven words.

Sleeping in and spending time with friends.

10. Would you rather have hair that never stops growing or fingernails and toenails that never stop growing and why?

I guess I would rather have hair that never stops growing—I don’t really have a reason why. They both sound terrible.

11. Make up a word that describes or embodies your life philosophy.

Danceous.

12. If you were a superhero, what would your super power and name be?

I would be invisible.  Invisible Enigma.

13. What is your guilty pleasure TV show?

Toddlers & Tiaras.

Check out some of the articles from the week that caught our eyes.  Thoughts?  Predictions?  Post ‘em here!

From all of us on the AisleBuyer team, Happy Holidays!

With most of the shopping season behind us, consumers have proven that they’ve used mobile technology for a variety of reasons: to help them find retail stores, look for deals, find out greater product information, compare item pricing, and check-out faster. In fact, according to a recent Holiday Shopping Survey by Motorola Solutions, “43 percent of surveyed shoppers reported that the mobile point of sale (mPOS) improved their shopping experience.”  Furthermore, the acquisition and use of mobile devices in retail stores that can leverage the same conveniences of an e-Commerce site can mean the difference between saving and losing a sale:  “68 percent of lost sales could have been recaptured if a retail associate was able to order the item and have it delivered to the shopper’s home.” Yet, when retailers were asked if they had a mobile app that connects consumers to their e-Commerce site, this is how they responded:



*Survey commissioned by AisleBuyer and Retail TouchPoints

There’s no getting around it: if retailers want to appeal to the “67 percent of shoppers” who “cited a better experience in-store with associates and managers using the latest mobile technologies,” they have got to make an aggressive plan for how they are going to adopt and implement mobile technology into their stores in 2012.  A recent survey AisleBuyer commissioned with Retail TouchPoints highlights that retailers are, in fact, taking steps to move in this direction.  Out of 4 technologies given, 40% of respondents selected “mobile store associate with a tablet” as the most important way they will interact with their customers, while 35% selected “mobile self-checkout with a smartphone.”

There’s no doubt that mobile commerce’s hold on the market is growing at an amazing rate; “purchases made on smartphones and tablets…hit $5.3 billion in 2011, up 83 percent from the year before.”  It’s not a matter of if retailers will adopt these new technologies, but how soon and how many. For a glimpse at the future role of technology in the retail world, check out the recent NRF SmartBrief poll:

Which technology should retailers be investing the most in for 2012?

All of these stats are pretty telling; we’ll have to wait and see how 2012 shapes up for mobile commerce!

I’m in charge of all of our partnerships:  consulting partners, resellers and advertisers.  I help us scale the business in terms of implementation and indirect sales.

2. What is your favorite part of working for AisleBuyer?

The people that I’m working with.  It’s a young, dynamic, really bright and energetic group of people.  Also, the technology—it’s a hot space.  Our potential partners are really eager to find out more about us and to work with us.

3. What is your favorite mobile app and why?

My favorite apps are iBike (because it helps me when I’m biking), BestParking, Flashlight and MLB AtBat.

4. If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

Crown Lager from Australia.

5. If you had your own hot sauce, what would you name it?

My own hot sauce??  Wow.  “En fuego.”

6. Of the AisleBuyer team, who would you like to be Beirut partners with the most? The least?

The most:  Shannon because I saw her playing and she was en fuego.

The least:  I’ll call her Melinda, just so I can give her a hard time.

7. Would you rather live the rest of your life without music or dessert of any kind?

Without dessert of any kind.

8. Describe your personal style in one word.

Laid-back.

9. Describe your perfect Saturday afternoon in exactly seven words.

Long ride on my bike with friends.

10. Would you rather have hair that never stops growing or fingernails and toenails that never stop growing and why?

Hair because I think I’d look like a freak with fingernails and toenails that never stop growing.  It would be hard to walk, couldn’t get your shoes on, it’d be hard to type…

11. Make up a word that describes or embodies your life philosophy.

Maximissimo.

12. If you were a superhero, what would your super power and name be?

To read minds and I’d be “MindBender.”

13. What is your guilty pleasure TV show?

I like House, but the other one that’s kind of silly is Scrubs.

The NRF Twitter handle (@NRFnews) has been cranking out some great stuff recently; check out a selection of holiday-related news below! And yes, I can identify with the second tweet here; have you finished all your holiday shopping yet?

1. What do you do at AisleBuyer?

Stalk people. If you work in the retail world, I already know everything about you. And your children.

2. What is your favorite part of working for AisleBuyer?

Seeing who can jump the highest, bump into the most walls, and eat the biggest spoonful of Death Rain

3. What is your favorite mobile app and why?

The NPR app because it tells me everything I need to know – who reads anymore anyway?

4. If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

Corona.

5. If you had your own hot sauce, what would you name it?

HotterThan HoustonJalapenosAbercrombieModelsandFinnishSaunas.

6. Of the AisleBuyer team, who would you like to be Beirut partners with the most? The least?

Most: Shannon – I don’t think she’s lost a match yet.

Least: Casey – because he wouldn’t stop smack-talking and hand-waving long enough to throw the ball.

7. Would you rather live the rest of your life without music or dessert of any kind?

Without music – I love cupcakes and fro yo too much.

8. Describe your personal style in one word.

Foreign.

9. Describe your perfect Saturday afternoon in exactly seven words.

Outdoor park, walking aimlessly, cupcakes and sushi

10. Would you rather have hair that never stops growing or fingernails and toenails that never stop growing and why?

Hair that never stops growing because it’s easier to put up.

11. Make up a word that describes or embodies your life philosophy.

Foodicious.

12. If you were a superhero, what would your super power and name be?

Super Power: power to be invisible

Name: Vapor

13. What is your guilty pleasure TV show?

Gossip Girl