US: retailers should focus on mobile, in-store experience to ingratiate consumers - report

Customers say their expectations are not being met in their quest for online/offline shopping, according to a new study issed by the management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture. Only 42% of shoppers found it easy to complete a purchase using a mobile device and, when asked which aspect of the shopping experience is most in need of an upgrade, 39% ranked the physical store first, showing that retailers have not made much progress in these categories since the 2014 edition survey.

The research also found that a number of mobile capabilities that can enhance seamless retailing for customers remain underdeveloped. For example, while all of the US retailers assessed as part of Accentures benchmarking analysis have mobile optimised websites, only 53% have optimised their websites for tablets.

Respondents said they would like to access services via their mobile phones while shopping in-store. More than a third (39%) said that they would take advantage of the opportunity to earn loyalty points and save money on their purchases through in-store mobile phone offers and 45% would like to receive real-time promotions sent to their phones or tablet. Yet, only 28% of retailers currently have the capability to deliver that service.

This gap between consumers desire for mobility services and the current levels of provision from retailers is further reinforced by the 32% of respondents who said the second biggest improvement retailers need to make in the consumer shopping experience is to enable the use of all three sales channels, physical store, online and mobile, in an integrated way. However, tablet and mobile phone users are able to start shopping on their devices and complete the cycle in-store with only 22% and 19% of retailers, respectively.

When asked specifically about the improvements that are needed to enhance the in-store experience, survey respondents cited easy ordering of out-of-stock merchandise (19%) and free Wi-Fi (15%). In addition, more than one-third (36%) said they would order out-of-stock items via their mobile phone while in-store if they had that option. An overwhelming majority (82%) of survey respondents expect a retailers prices to be the same in-store and online, a significant increase on the 69% in 2014.

Furthermore, the survey indicated that retailers who dont have the right online presence and pricing are at risk of losing sales once a physical store closes for the day. If access to a physical site is not possible, 15% of consumers indicated they would shop around online for the best price, rather than buy from the original retailer online or wait to go back to the store, an increase from 9% over 2014.