"Beam Me Up, Scotty"

Digital Rainmakers are making it even easier to motivate purchase. @Simon Property Group, who in South Florida manages one of the busiest malls in the country -- Dadeland Mall -- has teamed up with a tech startup firm called @Shopkick to beam coupon offers to shoppers smart phones as they walk by the stores. This is how it works: retailers install the Shopkick application on small speakers at the entrance to their stores. The speakers transmit a sound that the human ear can't hear, but contains a code for the store that is picked up by cellphones’ microphones. Consumers have to have the Shopkick application downloaded on their phones to receive the instant offers. When the Shopkick app is open on the smart phone, it detects the signal technology installed in the store location as the consumer walks through the door, and the shopper instantly receives rewards, called "kickbucks." Those kickbucks can be immediately redeemed for Facebook credits, songs from Napster, in-store cash-back rewards at shopkick partner stores, magazine subscriptions, or donations to charities.