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Dealing
With the "Smartphone Shopper"
If you see a customer wandering your
store while peering into a cell phone it is not safe to
assume he or she is texting, emailing or using Facebook.
In fact, chances are good that your customer is using
the smart phone as an in-store research tool. They may
be looking up product features or simply searching the
web to compare competitor's prices against yours.
Smartphone shoppers may still be a small subset of
shoppers in your store and it is not clear whether large
numbers of Americans will be willing to take the extra
time to compare offers with mobile programs. Some
consumers may want to deploy the technology only when
buying expensive or unusual items. However, one thing
seems certain and that is that as smartphone usage grows
and as word spreads on how easy it is to use them in
store the number of consumers shopping multiple stores
at once will only increase.
Mobile shopping is breaking down the walls of
traditional brick-and-mortar stores by giving consumers
the ability to easily find a cheaper price in a store
down the street. Smart phone applications, such as
Google Shopper, RedLaser and TheFind, allow consumers to
look up a product by scanning it or typing in the bar
code. These apps then return a list of prices for the
same item at nearby stores or through online retailers.
This threatens to turn stores in to more like showrooms
where consumers test products and then making their
purchase at a discount merchant or online.
Some large retailers are readying themselves to use the
technology in their favor by displaying targeted ads to
smartphone users and by using new systems that can help
the retailer detect which shoppers are usine smartphones
and sending messages to their phones. But many retailers
are not yet in a position to fight this technology with
technology instead they must be able to stay competitive
yet make the purchase worth a few extra dollars to the
in store customer. Here are some ways they are dealing
with such consumers:
- Train sales staff to recognize
when a smartphone shopper is in the store and
attempt to engage the customer.
- Consider creating a mobile
version of your website and offer the customer a
discount for visiting and adding their email to your
email list.
- If you can't compete on price
alone stress your return policies, rewards points
and the immediate availability of the product.
In the end these shoppers are
essentially tech-savvy versions of your deal-scouting
discount shopper. Smartphones may very well change brick
and mortar stores in ways that are not fully understood
yet. But retailers who can stay competitive on price
while offering service and convenience will be in the
best position to survive and grow.
Published: March 2011 |
