'Net Features : mobile shopping

Mobile Shoppers Use Devices to Research Local Business

Michael Garrity — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:35:00 GMT

Two of the biggest mobile and local companies on the Web, xAd and Telmetrics, have once again teamed up to conduct their second annual Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study, which reveals that consumers are using their searching on their mobile devices earlier and more often for relevant information about local businesses, products and/or services.

Culled from an online survey of over 2000 U.S. smartphone and tablet users and compiled by Nielson, this year’s Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study found that mobile is already starting to challenge and almost overtake desktop computers as a user’s primary media resource, as apparently 45 percent of users will turn to their mobile devices first, while 49 percent still use their PCs as their primary media resources.

Moreover, about 54 percent of respondents said they use “additional media sources” to aid in their purchasing decisions, while 46 percent said they exclusively used mobile devices as their primary research tools. Basically, the study found that about half of all mobile users rely on their devices at the beginning of the “research process,” and about one-third of them continue using it throughout the whole purchasing cycle.

However, for most mobile shoppers, local relevancy seems to be the biggest influencer in their purchase selections, as they cited things like location, local offers and promotions as their biggest reasons for making a purchase. About one-third of smartphone users and one-fourth of tablet users reference their devices to specifically find a local business’s contact information, such as a phone number, address or driving directions. In fact, about 60 percent expect businesses to be within walking or “local driving” distance for some reason.

But the good news for all online retailers is that mobile users across various categories showed a high percentage (60 percent for smartphone users and 53 percent for tablet users) of completed purchases related to their mobile activity. However, 53 percent of mobile users are actually making their purchases offline or in-store, although this is more common with smartphones than tablets.

In addition, the Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study found that most (57 percent) searchers go directly to a branded app or website, but that discovery methods vary more on tablet devices, and that nearly 60 percent of mobile users (and 80 percent of tablet users) said they actually use their devices at home, rather than on the go.

CVS iPad App Gives Shoppers a Virtual Storefront Experience

Michael Garrity — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:45:00 GMT

Earlier this week, CVS launched an innovative new iPad application for online shoppers that provides them with a detailed, virtual 3D e-commerce experience in the palms of their hands.

With the app, customers can explore a digital version of a CVS/pharmacy store to shop for products or access services from the Pharmacy, ExtraCare, Photo Center or MinuteClinic departments. This interactive pathway provides customers with a personalized shopping experience and brings the virtual drugstore to life, so that they can access it on-the-go, or from the comfort of their own homes.

Some of the features in the app include: enhanced prescription management, access to weekly ads, an online and mobile Photo Center and a catalog-style shopping experience.

“The new CVS iPad app provides the millions of customers who visit CVS.com on a tablet device each month with a virtual feeling of visiting their neighborhood CVS/pharmacy from their homes or on-the-go,” said the company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Brian Tilzer.

The development of this new e-commerce application marks one of the first times that a major retail brand has released a virtual 3D store for a mobile device. But as mobile shopping, particularly on tablets, continues to rapidly gain popularity among consumers, it seems safe to expect to see these kinds of digital storefronts proliferate, especially from major large-scale retailers that have the technology and development teams to create them.

What do you think about virtual storefronts? Would you like to see them become more commonplace in mobile e-commerce? Let us know in the replies!

Smart Strategies to Win Over Fickle Mobile Shoppers

Administrator — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:15:00 GMT

Over time, retailers have successfully made the transition from sole brick-and-mortar selling to multi-channel merchandising featuring e-commerce as a major channel. Today, tackling mobile commerce has displaced e-commerce as merchants’ toughest challenge; shoppers are more impatient than ever.

According to recent reports, average consumer page views per retail site visit are down to 6.6, compared to 8.3 pages last March. In fact, the average time spent on these sites is also at an all-time low, a phenomenon likely caused by the increasingly competitive mobile commerce market. In order to adapt to this instant-gratification craving audience, e-retailers must adjust their mobile strategies to establish a competitive advantage. By adopting several simple strategies, companies can better position themselves to seize those coveted smartphone and tablet-shoppers.

The saying “a picture’s worth 1,000 words” has never been more applicable in e-commerce than now; when users skim the Web on their ultrabooks, tablets and smartphones, a certain aesthetic presentation is expected.

However, using large images on the mobile site can slow page loading, so make sure you aren’t layering too much data into your pictures. Keep files small and resolution high. Clean product visuals are even more necessary to keep and convert mobile buyers on your site. And though images might catch a consumer’s eye first, what they are actually looking for is likely in the copy. When users scan mobile screens, elaborate fonts and obscured buttons complicate the process. Using unadorned sans-serif font allows users to scan pages quickly, often without having to resize in order to find the information they’re looking for.

This highlights another new demand of digital shoppers: if they have to hunt for the details or products on your site, they’ll go elsewhere for a speedier experience. According to a survey conducted by Google, 78 percent of users want to be able to find what they’re looking for on a mobile site in one to two clicks. To meet this standard, get into the user’s mind and outline a specific architecture for your mobile site: ask yourself why customers are visiting the site and where they might want to go.

Making important or popular site features easily accessible on the homepage will ease the mobile browsing experience. Your landing page should have all of the information customers look for first. Offering too many subcategories and additional tabs clog the page, but the navigation buttons you do include must be readable and easy to click.

Information like store location and hours, social media accounts and sales should be clear on the homepage. Remember that smartphones and tablets, with their limited screen sizes, can only display so much information effectively, so less is still more.

If users want to search for something more specific, such as a product or service, finding what they need shouldn’t be a struggle. Design a high-functioning, concise search tool and make your mobile search function as advanced as your websites’, complete with auto-fill, filters and categories.

Attracting users to your mobile site is a portion of the battle, but the end goal is building an experience that pushes consumers to the final step: checking out. Purchasing should be painless; contain abandoned cart syndrome by updating your checkout process with shopper-friendly features. For example, make shopping carts easily accessible and develop checkout forms with short fields that require minimal scrolling.

Though consumers may have time to register full information using lap or desktops, it is cumbersome for mobile users to create a full account on-the-go. Allow them to register as guests and offer progress indicators so consumers know where they are in the buying process. Implement specific conversion tools such as cookies, Google or other alternative account sign-in options, and PayPal to unify and further streamline the process.

Finally, customers need a reason to visit your site over competitors’. Mobile-exclusive promotions are the perfect way to draw audiences to your page without fail. Make sure to broadcast these specials through channels you know mobile users engage regularly, namely email and social media.

Today’s new mobile commerce platform offers its share of challenges for online retailers, but with renewed and updated strategies to cater to finicky audiences, merchants can retain satisfied customers and develop lasting relationships with new ones.

About the Author: Diane Buzzeo is the founder and CEO of Ability Commerce. After spending two decades in retail and retail marketing, Buzzeo saw the need to create a company dedicated to creating software solutions for ecommerce retailers and founded Ability Commerce in 1999. Ability Commerce is a leading provider of ecommerce software, offering customizable, turn-key solutions for online retailers including website infrastructure, CMS, customer analytics and multichannel integration.

Report Shows Consumers Getting More Personal

Michael Garrity — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Local Corp. has unveiled the preliminary data from its report that shows that the modern consumer takes a highly personalized path to purchase and utilizes a wide variety of devices to do so, including PCs, smartphones and tablets.

Still, 90 percent of the shoppers surveyed said that a physical store was still important in the purchasing process.

However, as evidence of a changing landscape, 60 percent of respondents said they researched products or services several times a month using a mobile device of some sort. Meanwhile, PCs are still a major part of the purchasing process.

The survey’s results were culled from the responses of 1,026 consumers and explored their behavior across an array of mobile devices, including asking about preferences and plans for researching and purchasing multiple types of products. Ultimately, the survey reveals that due to the proliferation of available devices and channels, consumers are more frequently displaying pre-purchase behaviors based on their individually specific needs and interests.

Other interesting highlights from the survey include:

- 28 percent of researchers used two devices at a time to find information

- Over one-third of shoppers have made a purchase on a mobile device in the past six months, with tablet shoppers using their devices to shop more frequently

- 47 percent said they use smartphones to search for local information

- 42 percent of respondents said they use the Web to check inventory prior to shopping at a brick-and-mortar store

- Ratings/reviews and search listings top the list of most influential things to the shopper’s choice of destination at 41 and 37 percent, respectively

- 31 percent of shoppers expect to research products and services more on their smartphones in the next year, while 41 percent plan to use tablets more for research

Retailers are Missing the Connection with Mobile Shoppers

Linc Wonham — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 05:26:00 GMT

Mobile shopping applications that provide consumers access to price comparisons, product availability, coupons, recommendations, ratings and reviews helped drive online spending to record highs during the 2010 holidays. However, according to a new study from Motorola Solutions, many brick-and-mortar retailers paid dearly for neglecting to keep pace with their increasingly tech-savvy customers.

The majority of retail associates surveyed believe that shoppers were better connected to consumer information than were in-store employees, ultimately hurting those retailers’ bottom lines. The study found that 28 percent of in-store visits ended with an average of $132 in abandoned purchases by mobile shoppers confident of locating lower prices, more plentiful stock, shorter check-out processes and better customer assistance elsewhere.

The study also indicates that 43 percent of shoppers who received in-store guidance from retail associates armed with their own mobile devices reported that the device improved their shopping experience. The survey also found that because today’s mobile shoppers can easily find deals elsewhere, 87 percent of retailers now consider in-store customer service - aided by access to real-time information – to be more important than ever.

Motorola Solutions has an obvious interest in selling the retail industry on the idea of smartphone-wielding in-store associates, but the results of the survey should not be overlooked. Mobile’s impact on the 2010 holiday season was minute compared to what we will see at the end of this year, when smartphone usage will be much closer to the mainstream. Arming employees with the proper tools to compare prices, check stock and accelerate the checkout process is an excellent strategy for brick-and-mortar retailers wanting to keep up with the times – and their customers.

Other key findings from the study include the following:

• 34 percent of surveyed retail managers cited frustration when alerted they needed to replenish stock after getting complaints, instead of knowing ahead of time.

• 55 percent of losses due to out-of-stocks could very likely be recovered with store associate interventions; specifically, when store associates have the capability to track down the item and offer a solution, most customers will complete their purchase with that retailer.

• 68 percent of surveyed retail associates would find the capability to scan barcodes to check inventory and availability of items requested by customers helpful in a small mobile device form factor that is deployed to every associate.

• 28 percent of store visits ended with an average of $132 unspent due to abandoned purchases driven by deal-habituated behavior, out-of-stocks, limited store associate assistance and long check-out processes.

• Shoppers with smartphones used their device to influence 39 percent of their walk-out incidents; 12 percent checked prices at other retailers online, 8 percent checked availability at other stores.

• Nearly 25 percent of surveyed shoppers said they would be very likely to take advantage of a sales associate using a handheld payment terminal to complete their purchase, compared to only 9 percent who would be very likely to use their own mobile phone to scan their items and process payment without assistance.

Brits Open to Mobile Shopping

Mike Phillips — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:37:00 GMT

According to a survey of 998 Brits conducted by Lightspeed Research, 17% are willing to buy products on their mobile devices. Men more than women (22% and 12%, respectively) and - no surprise here - the most open to the idea are those aged 18-24 (29%), closely followed by those 25-34 (23%) with the least likely among those 55+ (7%). Also not surprisingly, most said they would buy from a well-known retailer (77%) while just 23% would buy from "Any company offering great prices."

Of the top products users would buy, two of the top three choices were film, theatre and event tickets and travel tickets. DVDs and CDs were at the top of the list and books and travel were also popular choices.

Two major takeaways here: First, mobile shoppers need to trust a brand before purchasing on the go. This means that if you're setting up a mobile commerce page, you need to make every effort to secure your brand with your audience. This means both on the mobile front, through your website, promotional efforts, even offline. Security is also a major factor and even in the limited space of a mobile screen, some mention of a secure site or even a security badge should be present.

Second, mobile shopping relies on relevance. While DVDs may not seem all that relevant, CDs can be considered an "on-the-go" item, especially if they are being purchased through a site like iTunes. Film, theatre and event tickets and travel absolutely fall into this category. A solid 48% of respondents said they would buy flowers - that could be the quick apology variety after a less-than-pleasant phone call or a last-minute effort on Mother's Day, for example. For website professionals considering mobile commerce, you must decide if it fits your audience and, if so, which of your products are most likely to be purchased on the go.