A New Element to In-Store Advertising

Have you ever wished you could communicate with your customers at the very moment they reach for the shelf to choose a product? Modstream gets you pretty close. The company modifies shopping cart handles, adding a small screen to the hard plastic case. Retailers and advertisers enter marketing messages at modstream.com, choosing the stores in which they'd like to advertise, and the messages are wirelessly streamed to the screens. If the advertising messages are targeted to a customer's location in the store, Modstream's product could be pretty cool (although it may be a boon for companies who manufacture those handle covers marketed to moms with babies.)

Although it's an interesting concept, the company may want to take a tip from Australia-based Markitcart. Markitcart doesn't boast digital advertising, but it offers the consumer some actual benefits, in addition to providing advertisers with new ways to access customers. The cart holds more products than the average cart, and is RFID-compatible -- meaning eventually, customers will be able to scan their entire carts' contents simultaneously. If a customer knows she'll spend less time in line, she may devote more time to browsing and shopping -- and seeing your advertising messages.

(Shopping Cart with Handle Cover image courtesy of superhua, cc 2.0)