The Impact of Smart Phone on Retail Business


BANGALORE: As e-commerce gave way to m-commerce, the focus of the marketers worldwide is now concentrated on the emerging patterns in behavior of the smart phone carrying customer. xAd--a  marketer specializing in location based mobile advertising – in its quarterly study highlights interesting trends, such as—77 percent of smart phone related purchases are actually taking place in the brick and mortar store.

Observations

--16 percent of all online purchase in the U.S. is taking place through mobile.

--Customers while researching for a product or taking a purchase decision through mobile want to interact with the business (through an app).

--After clicking on a mobile advertisement, the next thing most customers do is make a call to the business or look for direction to the store on a map.

--Most customers looking for a brick and mortar store want a store within 5 miles.

--77 percent of all the people who use smart phones for purchases actually land up in a brick and mortar store to make the real purchase.

--For purchases which require less consideration, such as books, music, personal care, food and beverages; the customer is expected to make an online transaction. For more important purchases such as electronic appliances, the customer is supposed to visit the nearby store to make the real purchase.

Steps the retailers should take

--The smart retailer should engage with the prospective customer through an app. They should further concentrate on building app loyalty programmes, provide discounts and convince the customer through its app.

--The retailer should target the customer based on his/her  location.

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