Text up and smell the coffee offer

SHOPPERS passing Starbucks outlets will soon be bombarded with texts to tempt them inside as part of an advanced new marketing system.

The coffee chain is to send SMS discount vouchers to mobile phones using a GPS satellite system, which allows networks to track phone owners.

A message will be sent automatically when shoppers pass through a geo-fence - a virtual boundary surrounding the store.

Critics fear that marketing offering consumers deals based on their location might threaten personal privacy. However, O2, the first network to test the scheme in the UK, says its set-up means customers must opt in before they receive any vouchers.

Contrary to suggestions that such geographic marketing may be irritating, Placecast, a Californian firm that uses the new technology in the US, claimed that 60 per cent of participants said it is "cool and innovative".

Placecast chief executive Alistair Goodman said: "The service allows consumers to go about their day and automatically alerts them when they are near a special offer available at their favourite retailers.

"This is truly marketing as a service to consumers, not an intrusion, enabling people to connect with brands at the right place and in real-time, all via their mobile phone."

So far, Starbucks and L'Oreal have signed up for a six-month trial of the system, with the cosmetic firm using Superdrug stores to set up geo-fences to promote sales of the Elvive hair brand.

About 65 per cent of customers who were part of the initial programmes bought an item after receiving a text voucher.