Retailers this week are focusing on the relationships among mobile and big data analytics at the National Retail Federation show, with the mobile experience and retail analytics particularly expected to impact retail trends.
“Mobile shopping continues to grow in its reach and breadth,” said Carolyn Whelan, editor of a new report by The Economist Intelligence Unit commissioned by SAP to look at trends in mobile shopping and services, in a statement. “But as demand for more sophisticated services picks up, particularly among Millennials, shoppers will be less forgiving of services that fall short. As retailers shift or expand their mobile service offerings, a cohesive strategy considering consumer capabilities and needs across multiple touch points, from the physical store to desktops and smartphones, is paramount.”
The report was based on a survey that found 81% of millenials polled mainly use smartphones for shopping, and 60% of the overall respondents used their mobile devices to comparison shop. Those surveyed who did not use mobile devices often for shopping cited small screen size (63%) and awkward navigation (38%) as the primary barriers.
DMI recently released its assessment of which 10 brands offer the best in-store mobile experience, out of 100 assessments that it conducted. Walgreens, The Home Depot and Sephora took the top three spots, and DMI noted the best in-store mobile experiences typically offered a “store mode” with specific shopping tools were only available when the customer was at a retail location. While that trend is expected to grow, DMI sees a lot of room for improvement in the mobile retail experience.
“After conducting 100 assessments, it became abundantly clear that there is significant room for growth across the industry,” the company reported. “The highest score possible was 240, yet the number one retailer scored a 111. The average score was 44, a clear indicator that even top retailers have work to do in crafting and delivering effective mobile in-store shopping experiences for their customers.”
At the same time emphasis is being put on mobile shopping, retailers are also seeking to leverage “Internet of Things” technologies and cloud computing for better analytics on details such as shoppers’ movements and in-store experience. A number of companies made sensor and analytics-based announcements this week, including Vadaro’s smart sensor and real-time analytics platform; Fujitsu’s news it would leverage Cisco’s mobile and retail analytics platforms to expand its offerings in this area as well as its introduction of new retail wearables; and a new solution from Basic6 and Oledcomm that relies on in-store smart LED lighting for proximity marketing and analytics, a technology the companies call GeoLiFi.
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