Retailers Go Mobile

By Rieva Lesonsky

Whether in-store or in the consumer’s hand, mobile retailing is hot and getting hotter, according to the 13^th Annual POS Survey from Boston Retail Partners. The study of the nation’s top retailers found rapid growth in both in-store use of mobile POS options and mobile marketing and sales.

For example, more than 33 percent of respondents have a mobile channel, up substantially from 12 percent last year. In addition, 7 percent had already launched a mobile POS system in-store; 52 percent plan to do so within two years; and 19 percent say they will do so in more than two years. Just 22 percent said they do not currently plan to add mobile POS. Some stores are adding mobile POS to their current POS systems; others are getting rid of standard POS terminals and going all-mobile.

Here’s what else retailers are doing:

8 percent of respondents allow customers to check out using their own smartphones and 38 percent plan to do so in the next two years.

20 percent of respondents let shoppers use mobile devices to share their shopping experience with a friend; 16 percent offer this service but say there are still kinks to work out; and 40 percent plan to add this option within the next two years.

8 percent of respondents send consumers mobile coupons and special offers on their devices and say it works well; 12 percent offer this service but say it still needs improvement; 28 percent plan to offer mobile coupons and deals within the next two years.

Over 25 percent of the respondents described their companies as being “early adopters” when it comes to using technology to provide a better customer experience.

The next step for retailers is making sure that all aspects of the mobile experience—in-store checkout, shopping from the mobile device, and mobile marketing—are integrated and convey the same brand and user experience.

“As we talk to retailers about their technology plans it is refreshing to see the shift as they realize that to succeed they need to think about the point-of-sale differently,” said Ken Morris, Principal of Boston Retail Partners, in announcing the survey results. “The POS is not just located at the checkout in the store – customers want to be able to shop from multiple touchpoints, whether it is online, a mobile POS, or their own smartphone – and retailers need to be able to accommodate this new, technology-savvy customer with an omni-channel strategy.”

Image by Flickr user Pink Sherbet Photography (Creative Commons)

This entry was posted on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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