Mobile – the preferred personal tool for the Shopper
In the last 3 years, the use of mobile for shopping has increased by 100% indicative from the increasing number of advertisements focusing on use of Mobile, i.e. the means of shopping than the product itself. Clearly there is much to gain for the retailer and a lot less pain to the consumer.
It is a lot easier for a consumer to review a product online on the mobile and seamlessly place the order through an app or browser of the smartphone or tablet. Purchases are no longer on common perceptions and increasingly more and more based on hard facts and reviews. Mobile comes in as the ideal handyman for this entire chain of purchase cycle.
Another trigger for mobile becoming the purchase tool are the email and SMS campaigns also converging on the mobile. Group purchase options or special deals or discounts also get communicated as emails or sms and now, whatsapp messages, all from a single mobile device, leading to a purchase if the consumer so wished. Mobile shopping offers the much needed thrill to the consumer wanting to flaunt the ease of purchase without any hassle. The key driver of customer experience in mobile shopping is the ease of payment. For example, Kindle offers a one-click payment to purchase books. Mr.Murali Iyer’s 80 year old mother uses kindle to read spiritual books and makes purchases of new editions on the click of a button with direct debit to her son’s credit card details pre-stored in the device. The ‘power of getting what she wants, when she wants without having to trouble her busy son’ is a great boon to her. Toddlers are buying ipad apps for a couple of years now.
All the above points to the need for Retailers to focus squarely on the mobile platform and keep pace with it, better still, grow the mobile platform proactively. The target market is to be found on the mobile world and ability to sell to a segment found on the digital world is a key capability.
A recent research in the market has shown that nearly 50% of mobile application usage is dedicated to checking product specifications and price comparisons. Retailers who send proactive digital content including discount coupons and special offers are seeing a nearly 50% success rate.
With mobile payment being a key success factor for the adoption of end-to-end mobile shopping, retailers would do well to focus on ensuring security over mobile transactions and work with relevant intermediaries for the same. Customers prefer a safe transaction even at a slightly higher cost than an insecure transaction offering the best price.
In summary, mobile shopping is here to stay and thrive. A visible expectation of mobile shoppers is to receive personalized offers and experiences, which is likely to push the experience level to greater heights.
