There is huge momentum in the UK for consumers using their mobile phones to buy goods and services. eMarketer recently revealed that mobile commerce sales in the UK alone are expected to account for 26.5% of all online sales by 2017.
There is no doubt about it. Mobile is an increasingly important channel for retailers to engage existing customers and win new customers. However, according to Mastek, more than a fifth of the top 50 online UK retailers do not have an app or a mobile website.
Retailers - both traditional brick and mortar stores and online retailers - must not ignore this growing channel as they risk losing valuable customers and potential new sales. Indeed, some retailers can find it difficult to decide whether to develop an app or a mobile optimised site, or both, but they should not fail to offer either option to shoppers. Hopefully, Cisco Customer Experience Research finding that only 27% of shoppers use mobile apps will make this decision a little bit easier for retailers.
Retailers must also try and understand how their shoppers are using mobile as part of online shopping as this will help determine how they cater for mobile customers and optimise the shopping experience.
When it comes to where and how consumers are shopping via mobile devices, research by Shoppercentric finds that many actually do so from the comfort of their own home, rather than ‘on the move’. This raises some important considerations for retailers as there will be differences in connectivity, speed of internet, and the goal of the shopper – to find information, check prices, buy online or buy from a retail store.
They also found interesting age differences in how mobile devices are used as part of the shopping experience. For example, people aged 55 and over were more likely to use a tablet device as part of the buying process. When it comes to price checking and finding deals, it was found mobile devices were most used for this purpose by 35 to 54 year olds, and it was the 18 to 24 year olds that were most likely to use mobile for finding promotions such as discounts, offers and vouchers.
It is therefore crucial that retailers examine their own customer base and their target customers to determine their mobile strategy. For example, if you sell to the older generation you can expect that a significant proportion will use a tablet device as part of the shopping process over a smartphone device. This can influence how you to develop a mobile site as tablets have larger screens and bigger buttons, making it easier to navigate than smartphones. However, if you are wanting to capture consumers between 18 to 24 years old, you may be best offering discounts, offers and vouchers. For consumers where pricing is important, it is important to ensure pricing is competitive.
Learn more about how retailers can enhance the mobile shopping experience or read our Retail section to find out more.
There is no doubt about it. Mobile is an increasingly important channel for retailers to engage existing customers and win new customers. However, according to Mastek, more than a fifth of the top 50 online UK retailers do not have an app or a mobile website.
Retailers - both traditional brick and mortar stores and online retailers - must not ignore this growing channel as they risk losing valuable customers and potential new sales. Indeed, some retailers can find it difficult to decide whether to develop an app or a mobile optimised site, or both, but they should not fail to offer either option to shoppers. Hopefully, Cisco Customer Experience Research finding that only 27% of shoppers use mobile apps will make this decision a little bit easier for retailers.
Retailers must also try and understand how their shoppers are using mobile as part of online shopping as this will help determine how they cater for mobile customers and optimise the shopping experience.
When it comes to where and how consumers are shopping via mobile devices, research by Shoppercentric finds that many actually do so from the comfort of their own home, rather than ‘on the move’. This raises some important considerations for retailers as there will be differences in connectivity, speed of internet, and the goal of the shopper – to find information, check prices, buy online or buy from a retail store.
They also found interesting age differences in how mobile devices are used as part of the shopping experience. For example, people aged 55 and over were more likely to use a tablet device as part of the buying process. When it comes to price checking and finding deals, it was found mobile devices were most used for this purpose by 35 to 54 year olds, and it was the 18 to 24 year olds that were most likely to use mobile for finding promotions such as discounts, offers and vouchers.
It is therefore crucial that retailers examine their own customer base and their target customers to determine their mobile strategy. For example, if you sell to the older generation you can expect that a significant proportion will use a tablet device as part of the shopping process over a smartphone device. This can influence how you to develop a mobile site as tablets have larger screens and bigger buttons, making it easier to navigate than smartphones. However, if you are wanting to capture consumers between 18 to 24 years old, you may be best offering discounts, offers and vouchers. For consumers where pricing is important, it is important to ensure pricing is competitive.
Learn more about how retailers can enhance the mobile shopping experience or read our Retail section to find out more.
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