Smartphones are key to evolving brick-and-mortar retail strategies
Smartphones have opened up new channels for retail and consumer engagement. However, many stores have seen the devices as a complication to retail operations rather than as a benefit.
A recent survey from ABI Research debunks myths that smartphones are encroaching on brick-and-mortar stores by revealing that retailers that develop their own apps actually see greater customer engagement in-store.
According to the study, 45.8 percent of respondents said that retailer-branded apps spurred them to visit the store more, 40.4 percent noted that the app made them more likely to purchase products or services from the store or brand and 40.4 percent said they were more likely to tell a friend about their shopping experience at the company.
"These are overwhelmingly positive numbers," said senior analyst Mark Beccue. "They are so compelling that if retailers do not have a smartphone app strategy in place right now they are in danger of being left behind by their competitors."
However, these numbers reflected only users of retailers' mobile apps – a number which remains low at only 25 percent. Additionally, 37.9 percent who said they had downloaded a retailer's app explained that they had also downloaded other retailers' applications.
For retailers, this means that not only do they need to improve outreach and engagement among consumers to boost use of their app, but they will also need to make sure their apps are compelling, useful and able to compete with other retailers.
"Once a retailer can capture a consumer with one, there is a real opportunity to leverage smartphone apps to enhance customer service, deliver richer, more relevant product information in real time, shorten checkout lines, and more," added Beccue. "We are at the dawn of a very dynamic and creative time for retail."
Other studies are attesting to the primacy of tablet computers in retail operations, however. According to Bloomberg, Barclays Equity Research analyst Darrin Peller explained in a note that retailers are preparing to equip sales associates with the devices.
In fact, Peller predicts that by 2015, more than 2.7 million tablets will be shipped across North America to be used by the retail and hospitality sector. Additionally, in 2012, 65 percent of retailers plan to use the mobile devices in store – a 6 percent year-over-year increase, Bloomberg reports.
