GS1 and the B2C Alliance Info Below: clearly a big deal and Neomedia is right in the middle of it.
B2C Alliance
Give consumers information they can trust. Get their loyalty in return.
The B2C Alliance is working to enrich the online and mobile shopping experience by providing information that goes beyond the label.
Mobile barcode scanning has exploded in 2010. Factors driving this rapid transformation include the meteoric growth of smartphone use, and the ease of navigation between the virtual and physical worlds.
In this environment, the accuracy of product data available to consumers can make or break a product. Accurate and complete product information makes it easier for shoppers to find and choose the right product. Good data also builds trust in the quality and integrity of the brand, which can lead to a purchase—and satisfaction with the purchase decision—whether in the store or at home.
Ensuring that “virtual” product information is just as good as what’s on the printed label will help grow public confidence in this new retail channel. Brands that tailor their offerings and product information to the individual needs of the consumer can create deeper brand relationships and a better overall shopping experience.
Enter the B2C Alliance
The Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Alliance brings together leading product brands, technology providers and retailers, and is being facilitated by the not-for-profit standards organizations GS1 US and GS1 Canada. The Alliance is breaking down the barriers between consumers’ online/mobile applications and accurate product information.
While a great amount of data is accessible through the Internet, a substantial portion of it is “crowd-sourced”—i.e., posted by countless unauthorized contributors, rather than by the manufacturer, retailer or trusted expert sources.
The goal of the B2C Alliance is to ensure that critical product data (e.g., how to use the product, nutritional and allergen information) is accurate—information that the consumer can trust.
Going beyond the label
The B2C Alliance is working to provide enhanced, tailored product information that can differentiate the brand or retailer.
Among the categories are:
Product availability
Nutritional content
Allergen warnings
Product usage
Physical characteristics
Product recalls
By promoting accurate and authentic product information to shoppers, the B2C Alliance aims to increase:
Product trust
Brand loyalty
Positive purchase decisions (i.e., sales)
About The Business to Consumer (B2C) Alliance
Today, a lack of standardized data makes it difficult for shoppers to trust virtual product information. The B2C Alliance will help enable business to develop, adopt and implement consistent information standards. Leveraging the GS1 System of global standards will result in high quality of data at a lower cost, and a better shopping experience for customers.
GS1 US and GS1 Canada are bringing stakeholders together to find effective solutions for providing accurate and authentic product information—through the facilitation of workgroups, pilot project management, standards and technology expertise.
Goals of the B2C Alliance
High-quality, timely product data R&D
Funded research with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Unify data from data pools and other sources of product and marketing data
Give application developers the opportunity to test solutions using real data from leading brands
Creation of a standardized framework that is globally interoperable
Demonstrate how to provide access to authentic and accurate product data
Illustrate and demonstrate how the responsible use of technology (and access to the right product data) can enhance the consumer experience and increase brand loyalty
Validation of industry’s need to connect consumers to product information
Community outreach and working group facilitation
Why is the work of the B2C Alliance important? How will it make consumers’ shopping experience better?
Help Drive the Future of eCommerce
Your expertise is needed to help us develop better and more reliable solutions for eCommerce and mobile commerce using global standards.
Interested professionals can get details on joining the B2C Alliance by emailing B2C.Alliance@GS1US.org.
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