Today, it is nigh on impossible to walk down a high street without seeing someone on their smartphone, whether they’re taking selfies with the latest Snapchat filter, facetiming their friends, catching Pokemon or, most importantly for retailers, researching their next purchase either before or after entering a physical store.
New research shows mobile shoppers are driving changing trends in retail purchases. A study by Hitwise, based on the online activity of 3m UK shoppers, found 77% of online searches that focus on price match and 84% of online searches that focus on reviews begin on a mobile device.
This shows that savvy Brits are highly likely to compare prices, research products and look for reviews while instore before committing to a purchase.
Understanding why, how and when your consumers are using mobile devices to shop with you is key to a successful mobile strategy, along with integrating that strategy with your other channels to provide them with a seamless experience online and offline.
1.Convenience is Key
Take price focused customers, for example, who may be in your store comparing prices on their phone. Could you launch targeted offers via location-based beacons to keep their custom? Additionally, once they have purchased from you, consider asking for their email to send a mobile optimised e-receipt to drive engagement and bridge the gap between online and offline. Not only does this help with data capture and your marketing efforts, it also removes the need for a paper receipt, which so often gets lost, giving your customer the convenience to easily return their item should they need to.
2.Turn Browsers into Buyers
For those customers looking to research products including alternative colours/models not available instore, consider equipping sales assistants with Mobile PoS tablets to interact with customers and showcase further products that can be ordered and delivered to their home or picked up from the store via Click and Collect.
Another tactic to enhance the instore experience for on the go, mobile shoppers is to have live visibility on your website of where a product is in stock and how many you have. A study by Think With Google found one in four who avoid stores say it’s because they don’t know if a product is in stock, so why not make it easy for them? A mobile optimised website is also a necessity for retailers, either a responsive website as recommended by google or a separate mobile website, to stop mobile browsers getting frustrated and bouncing off.
3.Immersive Experience
Stores nowadays are can no longer be just a place to purchase, but an immersive experience that makes consumers want to come back to them. Excellent staff who live and breathe your brand are an element to this, yes, but so is using new mobile technologies to peak customers’ interest and make them want to interact with you.
Augmented Reality (AR) strategies are high on many retailers’ agendas. Examples include Ikea using AR to help shoppers see what their furniture would look like placed in their own home, Disney teaming up with Tesco to allow kids to take a virtual selfie with their favourite character from Frozen, along with many retailers already jumping on opportunities brought about by the recently launched Pokemon Go game. This merging of the digital and physical worlds opens up a whole host of options for retailers to increase brand awareness and interactivity and is a must for forward thinking retailers.
What are your thoughts on using mobile technology in retail to enhance in store experience? We’d love to hear how you’re using it. Leave a comment below or tweet us at @cybertill.
You might also like to download a free copy of our Multi-Channel Effiiency guide which explores more ideas for using mobile technology in retail by clicking here.
Rachel is passionate about retail and the ever-changing retail technology environment, with a keen eye for upcoming retail trends that are set to shake up the sector.
