January 21, 2009
Retail TouchPoints: New Reports Show Mobile Shopping Nearing Big Impact On Store Experience
By John Gaffney, Senior
Analyst
Through a
special arrangement, presented here for discussion is an excerpt of a current
article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
A new study from Foresee
Results titled “Mobile Apps: The Next Big Thing”
shows a 91 percent penetration rate for mobile phone ownership, but only
about a third of respondents have used them while shopping. Yet Foresee CEO
Larry Freed expects that usage to double by the end of 2009.
“As the situation
has developed, consumers see definite advantages to the web experience
in terms of information and inventory choices,” said Mr. Freed.
“And they see an advantage to the in-store experience, because it’s
more personal and tangible. Mobile is the bridge between the two experiences.”
Mr. Freed is so bullish
on the rapid acceleration of mobile usage for three reasons. First, he
sees retailers making a priority of bringing the web experience into stores.
Second, he believes competitive pressure will force their hand. And third,
he expects the iPhone applications that started to appear in 2008 to become
more commerce-oriented and less gimmicky.
During the 2008 season,
one in four shoppers who used a mobile phone during a shopping trip used
the device to compare prices, while 15 percent used a mobile device to
go online to check product reviews. Mr. Freed says this is a significant
number, considering the small but growing use of smart phones and the fact
that many retailer mobile apps were new this holiday or still in beta testing.
One surprising fact that
Mr. Freed uncovered from the Foresee study was that the emergence of mobile
as a fourth channel could ultimately have more of an impact on brick and
mortar shopping than online. “In fact, of all the behaviors we
study, only one was different for this group: greater likelihood to purchase
offline. All the other scores are identical for those who shop with or
without a mobile phone. Given the indications that people are using phones
more often to actually call someone to get an opinion or to send a picture
of an item (and less for price comparison shopping or store-initiated mobile
apps), it would seem that, more often than not, the opinion they get encourages
them to buy the item. Perhaps stores should consider ‘phone-a-friend’ promotions
to encourage this kind of shopping behavior.”
Mobile devices potential
was also explored at an NRF session last week entitled,
“Mobile as the Next Channel: Hype or Reality?”
“The productivity
revolution that mobility represents has just begun,” said Jon Stine,
director, internet business solutions, Cisco Systems, at the session.
“When consumers walk into a store and they are going to mobile applications
to check prices and SKUs at other retailers, that other competitor has entered
your store. In the past, retailers asked the consumer to come to their brand.
Then we asked them to find our website. Now it is possible for a brand to
go along with the consumer as a shopping buddy.”
Discussion Questions:
What do you think of the finding that consumers shopping with a mobile
phone were more likely to shop offline than online? Will mobile devices
prove to be more important to offline retailing than online retailing?
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Poll
Often, consumers use the phone to call someone at home to ask which type of cereal she should purchase for someone else. However, the study might be over-thinking the practical side of reality. Most mobile phone users carry the phone while shopping as a matter of security and convenience, not so much as a shopping tool as the study seems to suggest. Shopping is not something that consumers want to make more technical or complicated. For many it’s merely a chore.
Professor Fader is spot on in his analysis. The mobile channel and its adoption is an evolutionary process that ultimately will develop into a scalable model assisted by device and technology improvements and consumer trust.
The only thing I would add from a practical standpoint, as SmartReply is working with a few dozen retailers right now on mobile programs is: Get Started NOW. Gaining your customer’s trust and building these associated opt-in databases takes an investment of time, money and resources. You will be left behind and at a competitive disadvantage if you think you can wait a year or two. Consumers have only so much tolerance and room in their lives and on their mobile devices for x number of brands.
Can checkout scanning machines “see” a barcode displayed on the screen of a mobile phone? Would this be a possible way to download and use electronic coupons? Just wondering if anyone knows.
So far, I neither know anyone who shops from their smartphone nor have observed anyone doing so. And, if I tried to do it from my smartphone I’d have to research how. I’m in the e-commerce bidness, and perhaps once a month we receive an order or inquiry with the slogan at the bottom, “Sent From My iPhone” (or something similar). Our son owns a Ruby On Rails software company in Silicon Valley and has had the same non-experience, non-observation of shopping via mobile phone as I. Thus, I’ve convinced myself that my unfamiliarity with this new technology is neither generational nor tech-challenged. Mebbe, mebbe not. Or maybe its time hasn’t really come.
I remain skeptical of claims such as these. While mobile technology will undoubtedly continue to grow, the application to commerce, and specifically to eCommerce remains unclear. Having said that, I can agree with many who point to GPS-type links which identify nearby brick and mortar stores around a search request on a mobile device. I can see the delivery of coupons, although the technology to have those coupons read and then security managed either doesn’t exist or isn’t practical or widespread.
Overall, the “boom” of mCommerce remains the predictions of individuals without a great deal of substance, at least from my perspective. mCommerce will take a huge paradigm shift in American consumer behavior, and extraordinary creativity in developing applications which deliver value and improve the lifestyle or convenience of the consumer.
Not skeptical…just practical. This is a long way off.
Using mobile phones to check prices and product reviews barely scratches the surface of their potential in the retail store environment. The advent of NFC-based mobile wallets built into the next generation of mobile phones will step up this trend further. Phones will soon operate like “tap and go” payment cards that can store coupon offers and interact with the retail environment.
Envision the mobile phone as a platform for receiving and redeeming wireless instant coupons; as a personal kiosk in every shopper’s hand; as a personal pantry management device that links home, store and web from a single point of access.
Not only will shoppers use mobile devices to enhance their purchasing, but merchandisers will use the same devices to manage in-store implementation, track display conditions, and verify shelf compliance.
I’m aware of companies developing applications in all these areas today, and I’ve seen working prototypes of the NFC mobile coupon technology. Mobile devices promise revolutionary implications for retailing, in all channels.
Think of the phone (or PDA) as a “mouse” that allows you to access the cloud of information we call the internet. Since there are far superior devices, desktop or notebooks, for working at a fixed location (at home or office,) it is only natural that a “personal” device will dominate the mobile world of offline shopping.
There is a mobile application called ShopSavvy (click to see a quick video demo) that uses your phone’s camera to scan a product barcode and then presents you with comparison pricing from competitive websites. The app is available for Google’s Android mobile operating system, but I’m sure it or others like it will be ubiquitous soon enough. The app uses the phone’s GPS to determine where you are, so comparative pricing can be localized.
Yes, it may seem far-fetched, but how long ago was it that it seemed like a stretch that your average consumer would do pricing research on the internet before heading to the store? (Our memories are so short.)
There’s no doubt that the mobile phone will eventually become a critical tool to help shoppers make better in-store decisions, but it will be a relatively long, slow process for this change to occur. Retailers should begin learning about it and doing some small-scale tests to be prepared, but it shouldn’t be a high priority for them. They have much more important battles to fight (and much more accessible “low-hanging fruit” to grab) for the foreseeable future.
Lies, damn lies and statistics. The impact of online shopping, regardless of being done with a cellphone or not is still not very large compared to traditional shopping. The percentage of people shopping using a cellphone (compared to traditional online shopping) is even less.
It is important that we consider who is shopping, as well as what they are purchasing. Just a quick survey around of my office found that no one is doing this. Although just a small survey of about 20 people, my suspicions about this type of shopping were confirmed. I doubt that we will see anything close to these numbers, let alone see this being confirmed from other sources in the near future.
I was going to write that the best use of a mobile phone for any shopper is to call the management when they need help ’cause they aren’t likely to find any help otherwise. But everyone knows that’s a bad suggestion because you’ll just end up in the phone tree of Transferland and Hold Gulch. Here’s a better idea: stand in the aisle, blow a loud whistle and yell “Help! Help!”
When in Lowe’s or Home Depot, you can always get attention immediately by climbing up the pallet racks. Employees come running to ask if you need help.
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Often, consumers use the phone to call someone at home to ask which type of cereal she should purchase for someone else. However, the study might be over-thinking the practical side of reality. Most mobile phone users carry the phone while shopping as a matter of security and convenience, not so much as a shopping tool as the study seems to suggest. Shopping is not something that consumers want to make more technical or complicated. For many it’s merely a chore.
Professor Fader is spot on in his analysis. The mobile channel and its adoption is an evolutionary process that ultimately will develop into a scalable model assisted by device and technology improvements and consumer trust.
The only thing I would add from a practical standpoint, as SmartReply is working with a few dozen retailers right now on mobile programs is: Get Started NOW. Gaining your customer’s trust and building these associated opt-in databases takes an investment of time, money and resources. You will be left behind and at a competitive disadvantage if you think you can wait a year or two. Consumers have only so much tolerance and room in their lives and on their mobile devices for x number of brands.
Can checkout scanning machines “see” a barcode displayed on the screen of a mobile phone? Would this be a possible way to download and use electronic coupons? Just wondering if anyone knows.
So far, I neither know anyone who shops from their smartphone nor have observed anyone doing so. And, if I tried to do it from my smartphone I’d have to research how. I’m in the e-commerce bidness, and perhaps once a month we receive an order or inquiry with the slogan at the bottom, “Sent From My iPhone” (or something similar). Our son owns a Ruby On Rails software company in Silicon Valley and has had the same non-experience, non-observation of shopping via mobile phone as I. Thus, I’ve convinced myself that my unfamiliarity with this new technology is neither generational nor tech-challenged. Mebbe, mebbe not. Or maybe its time hasn’t really come.
I remain skeptical of claims such as these. While mobile technology will undoubtedly continue to grow, the application to commerce, and specifically to eCommerce remains unclear. Having said that, I can agree with many who point to GPS-type links which identify nearby brick and mortar stores around a search request on a mobile device. I can see the delivery of coupons, although the technology to have those coupons read and then security managed either doesn’t exist or isn’t practical or widespread.
Overall, the “boom” of mCommerce remains the predictions of individuals without a great deal of substance, at least from my perspective. mCommerce will take a huge paradigm shift in American consumer behavior, and extraordinary creativity in developing applications which deliver value and improve the lifestyle or convenience of the consumer.
Not skeptical…just practical. This is a long way off.
Using mobile phones to check prices and product reviews barely scratches the surface of their potential in the retail store environment. The advent of NFC-based mobile wallets built into the next generation of mobile phones will step up this trend further. Phones will soon operate like “tap and go” payment cards that can store coupon offers and interact with the retail environment.
Envision the mobile phone as a platform for receiving and redeeming wireless instant coupons; as a personal kiosk in every shopper’s hand; as a personal pantry management device that links home, store and web from a single point of access.
Not only will shoppers use mobile devices to enhance their purchasing, but merchandisers will use the same devices to manage in-store implementation, track display conditions, and verify shelf compliance.
I’m aware of companies developing applications in all these areas today, and I’ve seen working prototypes of the NFC mobile coupon technology. Mobile devices promise revolutionary implications for retailing, in all channels.
Think of the phone (or PDA) as a “mouse” that allows you to access the cloud of information we call the internet. Since there are far superior devices, desktop or notebooks, for working at a fixed location (at home or office,) it is only natural that a “personal” device will dominate the mobile world of offline shopping.
There is a mobile application called ShopSavvy (click to see a quick video demo) that uses your phone’s camera to scan a product barcode and then presents you with comparison pricing from competitive websites. The app is available for Google’s Android mobile operating system, but I’m sure it or others like it will be ubiquitous soon enough. The app uses the phone’s GPS to determine where you are, so comparative pricing can be localized.
Yes, it may seem far-fetched, but how long ago was it that it seemed like a stretch that your average consumer would do pricing research on the internet before heading to the store? (Our memories are so short.)
There’s no doubt that the mobile phone will eventually become a critical tool to help shoppers make better in-store decisions, but it will be a relatively long, slow process for this change to occur. Retailers should begin learning about it and doing some small-scale tests to be prepared, but it shouldn’t be a high priority for them. They have much more important battles to fight (and much more accessible “low-hanging fruit” to grab) for the foreseeable future.
Lies, damn lies and statistics. The impact of online shopping, regardless of being done with a cellphone or not is still not very large compared to traditional shopping. The percentage of people shopping using a cellphone (compared to traditional online shopping) is even less.
It is important that we consider who is shopping, as well as what they are purchasing. Just a quick survey around of my office found that no one is doing this. Although just a small survey of about 20 people, my suspicions about this type of shopping were confirmed. I doubt that we will see anything close to these numbers, let alone see this being confirmed from other sources in the near future.
I was going to write that the best use of a mobile phone for any shopper is to call the management when they need help ’cause they aren’t likely to find any help otherwise. But everyone knows that’s a bad suggestion because you’ll just end up in the phone tree of Transferland and Hold Gulch. Here’s a better idea: stand in the aisle, blow a loud whistle and yell “Help! Help!”
When in Lowe’s or Home Depot, you can always get attention immediately by climbing up the pallet racks. Employees come running to ask if you need help.