Three Cool Mobile Apps Consumers Will Use in 2015
As mobile shopping continues to grow — 60 percent of Amazon’s holiday traffic originated from mobile devices, for example — customers are going to start demanding ways to streamline the experience. Today, it’s a treat to find a retailer who has integrated inventory online with its brick and mortar counterpart. And e-commerce sites that offer in-store pickup are also a shopper’s dream. In the coming year, however, those options will slowly but surely become must-haves for retailers hoping to increase their piece of the pie. Here’s a look at three apps that are worth paying attention to in the coming months.
Mobile apps and shopping sites offer a great deal of convenience to consumers, but retailers should keep the customer experience in mind when implementing their mobile options.
Curbside
The Curbside app works with a number of retailers in the San Francisco area, including Target, Macy’s, Sears and Gamestop. (Sears offers “In-Vehicle Pickup” at other stores as part of its Shop Your Way loyalty program.) The customer can search for and buy products from local stores that can be picked up the same day. The user can search across multiple retailers and locations, and check out with one tap. At some stores, curbside pickup is available; at others the order is awaiting customer pickup. If successful, this could usher in a new wave of customers, particularly those with small children who may otherwise find it inconvenient to run errands with kids in tow. In addition, Curbside has introduced “Handoff,” which lets one person create the Curbside pickup, and invite someone else to pick it up.
Postmates
Postmates is Uber for deliveries. Users place an order from a restaurant or store and are matched with a Postdates courier. The courier retrieves and delivers the order in under an hour. Couriers go through a background check and must be customer-service savvy. They can earn $25/hour and work either part or full time. For users, pricing starts at $5 and is determined based on the distance of delivery. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if the business offers delivery, Postmates handles it independently.
Instacart
Many parts of the United Statesre served by grocery chains’ online delivery service. In the Northeast, for example, it’s Peapod, owned by Stop and Shop. While Instacart delivers groceries, it provides the service to different chains, so a shopper could use the app for Whole Foods on Monday and, if you’re in Philly, Reading Terminal Market on Saturday. The great advantage is the variety of stores offered by the service. Retailers do not need to set their own logistics, freeing themselves up to concentrate on their core business rather than on delivery vans.
Mobile will only continue to grow in 2015, as customers look to employ apps that will help them be more productive and efficient shoppers.
