The most popular shopping activity, performed by 57 percent of shoppers, is looking up store information, another study suggests. Half of shoppers compare prices on their mobile
devices, while 39 percent read product descriptions and 38 percent made a purchase, according to a study by Kantar Media and Compete.
Other popular shopping activities include searching for coupons, checking to see if a product is available in store, and checking the status of an existing order, Compete and Kantar Media say.
Up to this point, mobile shopping has been largely a matter of content purchases, though more respondents say they have bought “electronics” than “books.”
Among those who have made a purchase on a mobile device, 40 percent have bought movies, music, and videos, 31 percent have purchased electronics and 26 percent have bought books. Home items, such as furniture, kitchenware, and garden supplies are the least popular items to buy.
Some 68 percent of the retailers have developed smartphone apps and 59 percent
have smart phone-specific sites.
But retailers have their own reasons for embracing mobile inside their stores. From a retailer perspective, mobile point of sale is of high interest in the retailer, hospitality and field service verticals. Some 66 percent of retail, hospitality and field service managers surveyed on behalf of Motorola Solutions are interested in mobile point of sale solutions, while 42 percent of retail respondents are currently piloting or starting trials within the next 36 months.
A majority of respondents are focused on using mobile POS for sales associates on the store floor or to speed buyer check out, the study found.
Retailers also are embracing mobile POS pilots and trials to eliminate the high cost of traditional cash registers and accept customer payments wherever and whenever needed. Some 55 percent of those surveyed even plan to incorporate the ability to take cash as part of their mobile POS operations.
Fully 71 percent of respondents that indicated interest in mobile POS are using or planning to use it to improve customer service and also intend to provide access to inventory management (51 percent), pricing (48 percent) and merchandise returns (42 percent) applications.
In December 2011, Motorola's holiday shopper survey also found that a third of store visits ended with an average of $125 unspent due to missed opportunities to purchase. The survey also found that inefficient payment processes were one of the leading contributors to those lost sales. In that survey, more than 43 percent of shoppers agreed that their shopping experience improved when store associates used mobile POS devices.
About 16 percent of surveyed retailers currently have a mobile POS solution deployed, while less than nine percent have completely mobile or portable checkout systems.
On average, retail respondents anticipated replacing more than 36 percent of their fixed POS as a result of migrating to an mobile POS.
About 41 percent of field service respondents intend to use mobile POS for taking orders and selling in the field. About 39 percent plan to support banking transactions. But a third also see “management of the business” applications and 24 percent will automate work orders.
In retail settings, there is more emphasis on “coverage on the showroom floor,” check out and loyalty programs. And despite the emphasis on use of mobile devices as payment terminals, support for cash, checks and credit cards and debit cards are far more important modes of payment. Just nine percent plan to support contactless payment.
Fully 82 percent plan to support credit card payment, while 55 percent plan to take debit cards. Some 45 percent plan to support cash payments, while 36 percent plan to support payment by check. About 16 percent say they plan to support PayPal or some other online payment service.
Respondents suggest that 48 percent of cashiers and point-of-sale staff will be using mobile POS. In 53 percent of cases, the intention is to use fixed POS or self-checkout terminals for actual payment. In about 40 percent of instances, payments are expected to be processed by associates using mobile POS. In about 23 percent of cases, the shopper’s smart phone will be the payment terminal.
Some 47 percent of other sales associates will be outfitted with mobile POS. About 37 percent of customer service personnel will have mobile POS capabilities.
Also, a third of “store clerks” and 31 percent of field sales professionals will be using mobile POS. For retailers, 71 percent see “better customer service” as a tactical goal.
HawkPartners, a Boston-based marketing consulting and research firm, reviewed the mobile and tablet offerings of the top 100 US retailers and found that less than one-third of retailers have optimized, or even adjusted, their sites for tablets.
Rather than investing in separate iPad sites (or iPad apps), most simply use their existing websites, which translates into a clunky and often frustrating shopping experience for
consumers.
While over two-thirds of the retailers have iPhone apps, only half offer the ability to purchase using the app, the study suggests.
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