Retail TouchPoints: Mobile Could Be Real-Time Game-Changer For Black Friday Shopping
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
While Black Friday has traditionally kicked off the holiday shopping season by giving consumers exciting in-store offers, this year, industry experts suggest the real-time access consumers can find via smart phones could be a potential threat to the usually-high expectation for in-store traffic.
The ability to "wait and see," or capitalize on the online deal assortments via Cyber Monday, has previously been available, but the mobile phone is giving customers an additional channel through which to search, compare and shop.
"Mobile is probably the most interesting and game-changing technology that's going to and is hitting retail, and will do so for the next decade," said Fiona Dias, EVP of strategy & marketing, GSI Commerce. "We're just starting to wrap our minds on how it totally changes retail store shopping, but it's both exciting and frightening."
Ms. Dias said that although it's a great game-changer as customers are empowered with web site information now at the point of purchase, mobile still has its drawbacks. Pointing to a "crowd intelligence" concept, Ms. Dias said shoppers will navigate in groups and leverage social networks like Twitter to inform their network of friends about out of stocks via mobile.
"The power that customers are going to have to change their purchase decision on the fly [on Black Friday] is going to make it very difficult for retailers to keep people in line at their stores," Ms. Dias said.
Usablenet, provider of web, mobile applications, kiosk and assisted solutions has launched 16 retail mobile web sites and features in time for the holidays. Macy's, Crate & Barrel and Neiman Marcus are motivating customers with "wish lists" and "gift registries" to expand the functionality of m-commerce sites.
"This idea of productivity -- [being able] to compare prices without having to go to mortar stores -- that's an important aspect of [Black Friday shopping]," said Jason Taylor, VP global product strategy, Usablenet. "Retailers have to target those people while shopping, with coupons or special offers for a particular time. What might be interesting in mobile is the instant ability to get information."
Discussion Questions: How do you think mobile phone technologies may affect Black Friday or Cyber Monday, whether this upcoming holiday or in the future?