Shop.org Think Tank: Retailers must rise to the smartphone challenge

By FIONA SWERDLOW, HEAD OF RESEARCH, SHOP.ORG | Published: JULY 23, 2013

1 Comment | This entry was posted in Research

As more consumers switch from standard cell phones to smartphones and also adopt a multitude of tablet devices, retailers no longer need to be convinced that it’s worthwhile to invest time and resources in this emerging area. Mobile devices have added to the number of possible touch points for a brand experience, presenting both an opportunity to reach busy consumers in more ways and a challenge to manage in terms of devices, platforms and user experience. Fortunately, a number of tools and tactics are available to streamline the multi-platform management process and optimize the customer experience, such as the well-regarded “responsive design” approach.

The kicker: Consumers interact with smartphones, tablets, and desktops in completely different ways – whether different settings, situations, time of day or purposes – so retailers still need to develop strategies specific to each device. In the most recent quarterly article focusing specifically on smartphone strategy, theShop.org Think Tank advises retailers to identify the top primary “use cases” for customers shopping on smartphones and then tailor the user experience accordingly. Without the consumer use case as a primary guide, retailers risk both under-investing in smartphones and leaving significant money on the table.

When it comes to smartphones, retailers need to grapple with several key challenges:

• Proactively developing a smartphone strategy. Traffic from smartphones has increased so rapidly that many businesses have gravitated to solutions such as responsive design, an elegant and by no means trivial investment intended to create a web page that works regardless of screen size. However, implementing responsive design is only a first step. Smartphone success still requires independent strategy and tactics to leverage the specific nature and features of the smartphone – such as portability, location sensitivity, touch screen interactivity, and image capture via the integrated camera – to meet specific customer needs when they turn to their smartphone to help them shop.
• Understanding how consumers use smartphones for shopping. According to Forrester Research, only 3 percent of total U.S. e-commerce transactions (excluding travel) were completed directly on smartphones in 2012. But Google’s research shows that nine out of 10 smartphone shoppers use those devices for “pre-shopping activities” like finding store information, reading reviews, and comparing prices. Many retailers have demonstrated little to no insight into how customers use smartphones beyond making purchases directly on their devices – or how that smartphone shopping experience influences purchases that may ultimately happen elsewhere, such as in the store or on a desktop computer.
• Finding the right measurements to gauge smartphone strategy success. Without metrics that are tuned to how consumers use smartphones for many aspects of shopping, retailers are likely to undervalue the contribution of the smartphone to sales and other brand interactions. For example, conversion measured only in terms of direct sales misses sales that smartphone-based interactions have enabled in other channels entirely.

The new Think Tank article, Get Smart: Considerations for the Retailer’s Smartphone Strategy, digs deeper into the primary questions and possible approaches for this emerging area, including recommendations for pinpointing customer “use cases,” reevaluating metrics, and integrating smartphone experience with a broader marketing and merchandising strategy. Do you have an interesting use case to share? Tell us in the comments.

via Shop.org Blog http://blog.shop.org/2013/07/23/shop-org-think-tank-retailers-must-rise-to-the-smartphone-challenge/