The future for retailers in a mobile environment

Mobile seems to be everywhere you look and is changing the way people interact and use information. You can now find information instantly from practically wherever you are and at any time and this is changing the face of retail.

Gone are the days where you could only shop when retailers were open. With the introduction of the Internet, people are able to shop from home, or on breaks at work, allowing people to shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Now, mobile is able to offer even more convenience as customers can shop wherever they wish - from home or on the move - and they can use even more channels to connect to the Internet such as a traditional PC, laptop, tablet and smartphone to do so. This improves the customer experience as it allows shoppers to fit shopping into their busy lives, using whichever device they wish. Retailers must recognise this growing new channel and respond appropriately.

An article in Tech Advisor, The promises of "Omni-Channel" retailing, proposes that location, product, price, quality and service are no longer differentiating factors for retailers and there are five new factors which are relevant today in a mobile environment. These are:

1. Connecting - shoppers connect to the Internet or mobile to find product information. This needs to be available to both the shopper and staff in the shop.
2. Predictive - retailers must look at customers and predict in real time, rather than relying on historical data.
3. Personalisation - making a personal offer to each shopper in real time.
4. Context aware - making the offer at the right time and the right place whilst in your store or nearby. 
5. In-store experience - shoppers today are looking for information, product details and product comparison and this should be enabled within the store.

These five factors focus on real-time information, knowledge and treating customers personally with tailored offers.  Even better, it focuses on ensuring that staff within a store are equipped with as much knowledge as a customer. This helps ensure customers find what they are looking for in a convenient and speedy manner.

An article in The Guardian, Omni-channel retail: joining up the consumer experience, states that retailers are able to improve engagement and convenience through omni-channel retail. They, as well as many others, argue that it is important for retailers to provide a consistent experience across all channels that shoppers may use as if retailers fail to offer this, they may lose that customer completely.

The retail experience within a store cannot be undervalued. By visiting a store, shoppers can have a face to face interaction, compare products more easily and have questions answered quickly. However, showrooming is becoming a more prominent trend within retail where shoppers go online via their mobile phones to compare in-store prices with competitors’ prices. This is why it is crucial for retailers to adopt an omni-channel approach to guarantee they price competitively and also ensure the in-store experience is first class, as well as the customer experience across all other channels.

Mobile is certainly changing the face of retail and it is vital that the importance of this channel is recognised by retailers to secure their continued existence.  Find out how retailers can enhance the mobile shopping experience or read our Retail section to find out more.

For further information regarding HSL Mobile, visit us at:

http://www.hslmobile.com

follow us on LinkedIn, @hslmobile, Facebook or Google+

or call us on +44 (0)1506 605 260

or email us at sales@hslmobile.com

Mobile Couponing to Drive Retail Footfall

According to an article in the Telegraph, mobile shopping is expected to continue to rise by a further 115% across this year and almost a third of UK shoppers are already expected to be using smartphones as part of their shopping process.

However, as mobile shopping shows great growth, many traditional retail stores are struggling to gain footfall traffic and achieve previous sales growth.

Traditional brick and mortar stores must examine strategies to encourage shoppers into their retail stores and generate sales. One way to help bridge the gap between digital and traditional brick and mortar stores is through mobile couponing. According to Streetfightmag.com "When it comes to getting more customers through the front doors of a business, it’s hard to beat the effectiveness of a simple coupon."

Coupons and offers have been shown to enhance engagement with customers and help retailers keep existing customers. I think we’ve all been in a position where we may get a coupon or discount offer from somewhere we’ve bought from before and decide to try them again as we see value in the coupon.

More shoppers are recognising the value in coupons with Juniper expecting the number of coupons redeemed through mobile and tablets to reach a whopping 10 billion this year - rising by more than 50% compared to the previous year. Mobile coupons have redemption rates of 10% which is excellent compared to the mere 1% redemption rate of print and PC coupons. However, at the moment the number of mobile coupons given to customers is still rather low but we should expect to see this number rise in the near future.

It is important that retailers examine how their own customers like to redeem coupons according to CMS Wire. RadiumOne examined four types of coupon redemptions and found 51.5% of customers prefer to show coupons to a cashier, 23.8% prefer scanning-based systems, and 42.3% prefer SMS-based coupons. It is therefore essential that retailers study their own customers and devise a coupon which suits their customers’ needs.

Streetfightmag.com urge retailers to also consider what happens after coupons are redeemed as return rates are always rather low. Many businesses are beginning to use ‘post-couponing’ to generate additional sales. This can include giving reward points or small token gifts such as a free sample allowing businesses to add additional value without having to endlessly mark down products and diminish the quality of their brand.

SMS messaging can also prove to be a simple yet highly effective tool for retaining customer engagement. Retailers can alert customers to special promotions, account information, or send updates on stock availability. These types of SMS alerts help encourage repeat business and strengthen customer relationships.

At HSL, we specialise in offering businesses high quality solutions to suit business requirements. From simple text message promotions to bespoke solutions, visit our Solution Planner and find out more about some of the different ways we can help you.

For further information regarding HSL, visit us at:

http://www.hslmobile.com

follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @hslmobile or Google+

or call us on +44 (0)1506 605260

or email us at sales@hslmobile.com