A majority of global retailers agree that customers have evolved so rapidly they are forced to have a mobile presence, according to [download page] a September 2011 survey from RSR Research. Data from “Keeping Up with the Mobile Consumer” indicates that almost eight in 10 (78%) respondents agree with this statement, and 35% strongly agree.
In addition, 13% of respondents are neutral about customer evolution forcing a mobile presence, meaning only 9% actively disagree with the premise. In addition, 81% of respondents agree that mobile’s best uses and impact have not been fully fleshed out yet, with 24% strongly agreeing and only 10% disagreeing.
Only 46% of respondents have completely different goals for mobile shoppers than e-commerce shoppers (9% strongly agree), while 35% are neutral on the subject and 19% disagree.
Mobile Seen Driving Engagement, Innovation
Retailers report their top three opportunities that a mobile strategy presents to the business, with a focus on the customer. Namely, deeper customer engagement to drive loyalty (98% find valuable, 73% find very valuable), the opportunity to drive innovation through mobile offerings, and deeper customer engagement to drive sales (88% find valuable, 61% find very valuable).
In addition, 93% of respondents find obtaining deeper insights into shopper behavior valuable, although only 59% find it very valuable. More than eight in 10 respondents also find value in empowering store employing and saving sales at the shelf.
Merchandise Search Most Important Channel Capability
Examining retailer attitudes toward mobile channel capabilities, the study finds a leading 94% find searching for merchandise important, with 83% finding it very important. Similar ratings with high levels of very important rankings are given to store locator (90% important, 76% very important), receiving coupons/offers (94% important, 63% very important) and accessing products reviews (90% important, 61% very important).
Conversely, purchasing gift cards had the highest “not important” rating (22%), followed by viewing weekly ads (18%), and checking loyalty status, using barcodes to check price or availability and registering/redeeming gift cards (16% each).
Current Use of Valued Mobile Capabilities Low
Interestingly, retailers’ current use of many mobile capabilities with a high ranking of being very important is low. For example, only 48% use mobile store location, while 35% use mobile merchandise search. Low use ratings are also found for receiving coupons/offers (32%), accessing product reviews (26%), checking order status (25%) and redeeming coupons/offers (29%).
e-tailing group: 1 in 3 Online Consumers Perform Mobile Research
Approximately one in three online US consumers have performed one of several mobile shopping research activities in the past three months, according to a study from the e-tailing group and PowerReviews. Data from “The 2011 Social Shopping Study” indicates that a leading 33% of online consumers have both checked for sales and specials and looked up store information such as hours, location and maps via mobile device in the past three months.
About the Data: RSR conducted an online survey from June-September 2011 and received answers from 83 qualified global retail respondents.
