Retail TouchPoints: New Reports Show Mobile Shopping Nearing Big Impact On Store Experience
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is an excerpt of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
A new study from Foresee Results titled "Mobile Apps: The Next Big Thing" shows a 91 percent penetration rate for mobile phone ownership, but only about a third of respondents have used them while shopping. Yet Foresee CEO Larry Freed expects that usage to double by the end of 2009.
"As the situation has developed, consumers see definite advantages to the web experience in terms of information and inventory choices," said Mr. Freed. "And they see an advantage to the in-store experience, because it's more personal and tangible. Mobile is the bridge between the two experiences."
Mr. Freed is so bullish on the rapid acceleration of mobile usage for three reasons. First, he sees retailers making a priority of bringing the web experience into stores. Second, he believes competitive pressure will force their hand. And third, he expects the iPhone applications that started to appear in 2008 to become more commerce-oriented and less gimmicky.
During the 2008 season, one in four shoppers who used a mobile phone during a shopping trip used the device to compare prices, while 15 percent used a mobile device to go online to check product reviews. Mr. Freed says this is a significant number, considering the small but growing use of smart phones and the fact that many retailer mobile apps were new this holiday or still in beta testing.
One surprising fact that Mr. Freed uncovered from the Foresee study was that the emergence of mobile as a fourth channel could ultimately have more of an impact on brick and mortar shopping than online. "In fact, of all the behaviors we study, only one was different for this group: greater likelihood to purchase offline. All the other scores are identical for those who shop with or without a mobile phone. Given the indications that people are using phones more often to actually call someone to get an opinion or to send a picture of an item (and less for price comparison shopping or store-initiated mobile apps), it would seem that, more often than not, the opinion they get encourages them to buy the item. Perhaps stores should consider 'phone-a-friend' promotions to encourage this kind of shopping behavior."
Mobile devices potential was also explored at an NRF session last week entitled, "Mobile as the Next Channel: Hype or Reality?"
"The productivity revolution that mobility represents has just begun," said Jon Stine, director, internet business solutions, Cisco Systems, at the session. "When consumers walk into a store and they are going to mobile applications to check prices and SKUs at other retailers, that other competitor has entered your store. In the past, retailers asked the consumer to come to their brand. Then we asked them to find our website. Now it is possible for a brand to go along with the consumer as a shopping buddy."
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the finding that consumers shopping with a mobile phone were more likely to shop offline than online? Will mobile devices prove to be more important to offline retailing than online retailing?