Zipcar Interested in Providing Mobile Deals to Drivers

I’m a fan of Zipcar. For those who don’t know what Zipcar is, it’s a membership based car sharing company that provides car rentals to its members. Members can be charged on an hourly rate or daily flat fee. Currently, members can view and reserve a car via the internet, Zipcar’s iPhone app, or by phone. Specifically to Zipcar’s iPhone app, its features include honking the horn, locking and unlocking doors, as well as, changing/viewing reservations. In a recent article, we learn that Zipcar’s mobile strategy is about to change. Using its GPS equipped cars, Zipcar is entertaining the idea of sending mobile offers for store and restaurants to a user’s mobile device if that customer passed by the store when driving. For example, if you were to drive by a McDonald’s, an exclusive deal would be sent to your phone. The offer would only be available to drivers who opt-in to receive them. Zipcar currently only uses its GPS data to determine if a customer will be late returning the car.

While I understand that Zipcar is trying to refine and evolve the company as people become more digitally savvy and that this would provide a solution for advertisers looking to expand and reach potential customers in new ways, I have doubts on how viable this method can be. This idea is dependent on people in the car being able to check their phones while driving. For people who are driving by themselves, this is not a realistic option. Since several states have banned phone usage while driving, by the time they see the alert, they could be too far from the location to take advantage of the deal. Also, if I’m travelling 60mph on the highway, will I be getting dozens of deals from fast food restaurants I pass along the way? How many people will stop the car to take advantage of this? I understand that Zipcar wants to leverage its GPS data, so it’ll be interesting to see how the company approaches this strategy and how successful it’ll be.


http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/zipcar-planning-move-mobile-deals-biz/236093