Simplification Can Help Retailers Adapt to the Mobile Movement
The story of the “mobile first” generation isn’t a new one. Retailers have been told for years that mobile should be at the forefront of business strategy in order to meet consumers’ evolving expectations.
Yet, there appears be a disconnect between existing mobile experiences and consumer sentiment.
A recent survey from Accenture found that only 42% of shoppers found it “easy” to complete a purchase using a mobile device, although 88% of respondents reported shopping regularly with smartphones. As the “mobile first” generation evolves into “mobile only,” it’s becoming increasingly important to address this disparity.
Failing to provide a seamless mobile experience can be quite costly for merchants – more than $1 trillion of total retail sales in 2015 were influenced by mobile phones, according to a new report from Forrester Research. E-commerce has gotten more complicated, meaning more often than not, retailers’ homegrown platforms are outdated and inefficient. While the options offered to consumers continue to grow, it becomes easier for buyers to disregard those that aren’t up to standard.
The Answer is Simple
The key to optimizing commerce for mobile is simplification. While retailers often offer multiple platforms, including both desktop and mobile, it’s essential that all channels are consistent – including pricing, products and imagery. Shockingly, the Accenture study found that only 32% of retailers offered identical cross-channel pricing. These sorts of discrepancies lead to frustration from consumers. To avoid a potential loss in revenue, merchants should focus on presenting a unified brand experience across platforms.
Developing separate sites, however, can be time-consuming and inefficient. Implementing an integrated content management system (CMS) will greatly reduce the resources and energy required to maintain multiple channels. Utilizing a CMS allows administrators to make updates across mobile and desktop simultaneously. This way, promotions and product updates can be implemented throughout sites at the same time.
Providing Comprehensive Commerce Experiences
An integrated CMS will do more than just streamline business. It will allow retailers to provide a comprehensive commerce experience, without hiccups between touch points. Taking advantage of tools, such as push notifications, can have a significant return on investment (ROI).
For example, as mobile usage increases, consumers are looking to take advantage of their devices in-store; about half of consumers would like to receive in-store promotions, although only about five percent of retailers enable them to do so.
Push notifications are a great strategy for addressing this, allowing discounts to be offered in real-time. While such deals can – and should – be implemented simultaneously across sites, offering promotions through push notifications can increase both consumer engagement and sales. Connecting consumers with the right deals at the right time can have a huge impact on revenue.
In-store offers are only one part of a comprehensive mobile strategy. Operating between platforms should be seamless, allowing consumers to begin a transaction on one site and finish on another, for example. When modernizing for mobile, this is the most important principle to keep in mind.
Unifying Channels
As consumers rely more on mobile devices, retailers need to be able to constantly evolve to meet changing expectations. Of course, offering top-notch mobile capabilities shouldn’t come at the expense of other platforms. Retailers should be able to centrally manage content, pricing, promotions, and customer communication across all platforms; customers expect their information and carts to be seamlessly unified, with payment options and preferences saved throughout the customer experience and across screens.
Together, retailers and technology partners should aim to create a cohesive experience in order to give customers flexibility and choice in when, where and how they buy your product.