Retailers Must Gear Up For Mobile Influenced Sales

Mobile Cross Channel Sales – Are You Maximizing Your Sales Results?

Do you even know what a mobile cross channel sale is? The mobile age is upon us and those that embrace it will be the winners.

Here is a short article that can help you get started:

Cross-channel sales, also known as web-influenced sales, are purchases that are touched by a digital channel but are not completed online.  According to US data from Forester, cross-channel sales are becoming increasingly important and are worth four times more in total than online sales alone. In fact, the analyst estimates that cross-channel sales will reach $1.8 trillion by 2018.

A big part of this new trend involves people using mobile devices at the pre-shop phase to gather more information about products and comparing different options before they buy. Often this is while they are actually in-store ahead of making an online purchase.

That’s not to say that mobile sales conversions are not rising also. According to UK figures from IMRG, much of the £91bn shoppers spent online in 2013 was driven by mobile commerce, with over a quarter (27%) of internet sales coming directly from tablets and smartphones.

So consumers are increasingly more inclined to both use their mobile devices in-store ahead of making offline purchases, as well as using their tablets and smartphones to buy online.

Consequently retailers need a clear mobile strategy that is integrated into the customer journey if they are not to fall behind.

This isn’t just about retailers having a mobile optimized web site. Retailers need to think about the wider customer experience. Questions to consider include:

• Do they provide free Wi-Fi in-store to make it easier to engage with customers on mobile devices?


• Do they know the type of information in-store customers tend to look for on their mobile devices – and is it quickly available on their sites?


• Are online assistants armed with up to date information?


• Can customers scan barcodes for more information?


• Do you provide money off coupons via mobile?


• Is it easy for customers to see view social media conversations about specific products?

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The Future Is Mobile.

 

Retailers Must Gear Up For Mobile Influenced Sales