By Alex Samuely
January 19, 2016
House Depot taps mobile to create excellent in-store experiences
Although mobile has cemented its status as an essential sales tool, sellers including Sephora, Home Depot and Walgreens are leveraging smartphones to enhance in-store shopping experiences with functions such as product reviews, product suggestions and in-store layout maps.
DMI’s Mobile In-Store Experience Rankings examine the quality of mobile offerings from 100 top United States merchants, with a concentrate on the in-store experience. While mobile is undoubtedly a powerful sales driver, the channel is best made use of to provide a problem-free and streamlined shopping experience for customers in bricks-and-mortar shops, as evidenced by Walgreens’ and Home Depot’s top rankings.
“Brands that stuck out did two things: comprehended their target audience and constructed in smooth capability that catered to the requirements of that audience,” stated Jeremy Gilman, vice president of technique for DMI’s brand marketing and customer experience group. “For example, Walmart notified its shoppers ways to save the most– merely and quickly.
“Providing them the ability to see rates, discount rates, rivals’ costs, and gives them the power to be compensated if the buyer finds a lower cost elsewhere,” he said. “On a much deeper function level, many merchants who scored well offer buyers a barcode-scanning function.
“This may be the simplest method for merchants to quickly connect in-store shoppers to product details housed on ecommerce Web sites. This helps buyers search for pricing, stock, recommendations, reviews and other content about an item.”
Mobile’s unmatchable tools
DMI’s evaluation was carried out in accordance with the company’s Mobile In-Store Maturity Design, which determines six essential in-store experience aspects that are of vital importance to clients. These include pricing, inventory, shop guidance, personalization, checkout and loyalty and product evaluations and guidance.
Walgreens captured leading honors this time around, thanks to the retailer’s easy-to-use mobile app, which provides tools such as interactive in-store maps to assist newbie consumers, digital rewards cards, clinic appointment scheduling and prescription reordering, among others.
This essentially allows customers to leverage their mobile phones as personal shopping buddies, a technique that likewise eases anxiety for busy store associates. While users can complete commerce-related tasks in the app, such as making use of the mobile self-checkout service, it eventually works as a way to provide additive experiences that bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds.
“Standout performers likewise integrated their loyalty or benefits programs into the in-store experience– making it simple for consumers to track and redeem points, receive special invites for discounts and save payment info for simple checkout at the register,” Mr. Gilman stated.
Home Depot and Sephora ranked in at second and 3rd location, respectively. The home enhancement brand’s app excels at browsing stores, comparing prices and bring up item evaluations, which are three vital elements for a lot of its buyers.
Walgreens buyers can utilize mobile phones as an in-store navigational device
Nevertheless, DMI recommended that Home Depot focus more on customization in future updates, as many included promotions are generic and not customized to each user and his/her purchase history.
On the other hand, Sephora’s mobile offerings are created to completely match the in-store experience. Users can rapidly access commitment info and likewise delve deep into a library of evaluations, how-to videos and item content that can transform their personal gadget into a mobile makeup maven.
In addition, ABI Research recommends that steadily enhancing 4G Wi-Fi rollouts will strengthen shops’ mobile and physical traffic this year. The business forecasts that, by 2020, enhancing 4G adoption will drive monthly in-building traffic approximately 53 exabytes each month.
Consumers who maybe were not planning to browse in a particular shop might be sustained to walk inside if they identify signage exposing that 4G Wi-Fi is offered, which could result in them making an unintended purchase.
In-store connection is set to become an essential technique for 2016, implying that retailers might find themselves at a severe downside amongst their competitors if they select not to adopt these tools.
“The majority of retailers that scored highest on our assessment were working towards something described as ‘store mode,"” Mr. Gilman said. “In addition to offering ecommerce capability through an application, these retailers unlock added features when a consumer is in one of their physical stores developed to assist and improve the in-store buying experience.”
Experiences trump products
Numerous brands’ frustrating holiday sales this previous year exposed another growing pattern: consumers now have the tendency to shell out their money on memorable experiences instead of product products. While the likes of Macy’s and Urban Outfitters saw fledgling sales in December, restaurant earnings were reported to jump 8 percent, according to a current census.
Last year, millennials, a highly sought-after market, were anticipated to spend approximately $ 750 each on media, such as streaming services. This shows that consumers want to open their wallets, but are increasingly skipping garments and device items in favor of eating in restaurants, going on vacation or streaming their favorite programs.
As a result, retailers should keep this fundamental shift in mind when considering brand-new ways with which to target consumers.
Makeup fans can take contouring classes within Sephora’s app
One example of a brand leveraging experience to complement in-store shopping is fitness garments marketer Lululemon. Its Flatiron flagship shop offers a concierge service that assists visitors secure a spot in a workout class, which could be the best way to put a recent purchase of yoga pants to use.
Offering this concierge service through mobile might reach an even wider audience and garner more fans for Lululemon.
“The mobile experience must move when you remain in a physical shop,” Mr. Gilman said. “Mobile has the power making every shopping experience smarter, and alleviate discomfort points along the path to buy.
“Our research exposes that consumers want mobile buying tools that make in-store buying easier, quicker and more customized like their online shopping experiences. Mobile phone today are advanced enough to change a shopper’s experience– retailers simply have to harness that power and thoroughly craft that experience for consumers.”
Alexandra Samuely is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New york city. Reach her at alex@mobilemarketer.com.
Why mobile in-store winners no in on more than sales
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