Implementing Mobile Application on your retail Store

Implementing Mobile Application for Your Retail Store

Writen by:

Nicolas Costa

Implementing Mobile Application for Your Retail StoreLearn the most effective ways to stand out

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Let’s face it, we are inseparable from our smart phones.

O ur fast paced lifestyles need them. We need them. Our electronic sidekicks have progressed in their roles as talking/texting tools to

far, far more. Now they are with us around the clock and serve us with unimaginably more features than most ever imagined... one of the key ones being shopping.

The Time Is Now To Build A Native Mobile App For Your Retail Store

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New mobile technologies make this an exciting time in retail store marketing history.

The short but overwhelmingly positive history of mobile apps in retail has been an exciting and profitable one for all parties involved. Opportunities in terms of POS (Point of Sale) have exponentially increased for all business sectors due to mobile. The retail industry especially.

Take a look at a new mobile technologies (Augmented Reality) screen capture.. it speaks louder than words:

The entire customer shopping experience has undergone a sea change, permanently altering how people buy products and services. Augmented Reality, 3D Printing, Wearables, POS Technologies, Beacons and more have taken shopping to a whole new level.

Source: VOICE & DATA


According to a recent Voicendata article, AR mobile technology’s use in the gaming market is not going anywhere:

Macy’s is a perfect example of a large retail store with a well working native application in place.

Because of their confidence in mobile marketing, Macy’s have stepped up to be the pioneers in iBeacon technology.

They recently adopted a one of the newest forms of mobile technology in ShopBeacon. Macy’s two largest and most popular retail stores, San Fran-cisco and New York, currently are operating with this new feature

Macy’s is one of the more experienced now that they’ve initiated iBeacon technologies into their mobile marketing plans.

“The Augmented Reality (AR) apps in the mobile games market will generate 420 million downloads annually by 2019, up from 30 million in 2014, according to data from Juniper Research.”

Augmented Reality is one of many new avenues retail shops

now have at their disposal to increase their numbers across the board. With all the possibilities to and strategies to try, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Like with most things it is best to keep it simple and learn from those more experienced.

A Real World Example Of Mobile Marketing’s Capabilities

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With Beacon technology installed and live in action, they more than even out the playing field. Macy’s Chief Executive Terry Lundgren spoke of their ShopBeacon in an analyst conference in late 2014,

"We can find out where you are standing and how long you've been standing in front of the Michael Kors handbag and if you haven't purchased...And if you haven't, I'll send you a little note to give you encouragement to do so."

Rewards, gift cards and various

other incentives make people gladly opt-in to the ShopBeacon technology retail app. Who doesn’t want to save a buck or two? American Eagle Outfitters is another retailer on the early adopter list of ShopBeacons’. They have it installed in 100 stores within major cities nationwide.

Not too long ago, we weren’t sure if mobile marketing was just fad or if it was poised to be the next great thing in marketing since the internet… well now we’re sure.. mobile marketing is the real deal.

Brian Solomon reveals positive numbers in a recent Flurry Mobile study: “..shopping app usage grew faster than any other category of apps. Ses-sions on shopping apps on iOS and Android devices increased by 174% year-over-year, including 220% on Android alone. That’s up from 77% last year.”

Mobile Marketing For Retail Is On The Rise And Going Strong


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These numbers are for 2013 to 2014 and all indications show even stronger numbers in favor of mobile marketing in 2015. You can see in the diagram below how mobile has grown over 76% in one year from 2013 to 2014.

And amongst the mobile app growth sector elite is just one, “Lifestyle and Shopping.” This needs to be ringing alarms if you’re in retail and have not thought about building out your custom app yet...

0%

45%

174%

121%

103%

89% 89%

74%

49%

33%30%

Lifestyle& Shopping

Utilities &Productivity

MessagingSocial

Health & Fitness

Travel Sports News &Magazines

Music,Media &

Entertainment

Games

90% Average76%

2013

-201

4 Y

ear-

Ove

r-Y

ear G

row

th R

ate

135%

180%

Source: Flurry Analytics

Mobile Use Grows 76% Year-Over-Year(Sessions)


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So, what does this mean for retailers?

It means you as a retailer are poised to benefit from mobile marketing’s growing awareness and usage. It’s here. It’s going strong. And it thrives within brick and mortar retail shopping.

The beauty behind native mobile apps is the fact that they attract more in-store customers who then shop more often with them. If you’re thinking mobile apps are the same thing as “ecommerce”, you are mistaken.

From augmented reality and mobile payments, to iBeacons and in-store digital signage...

Mobile marketing is so much more than an online transaction. It’s a marketer’s new favorite toy.

Does Retail Success Depend On Mobile Apps?


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Understanding the true potential of native mobile applications gives oppor-tunity to express the product/service in the best way possible; through virtual shopping windows and unrelenting personalized consumer experi-ences.

Thanks to human shopping behaviours, having a fully functional mobile app for your retail store is now a necessity rather than a luxury or add-on option to consider.

Learn How Mobile Apps Are A Win For Retailers:

Continuous Visibility to Customers is guaranteed - A well designed app icon or text image registers in the minds of clients as they browse their phone. Did you know? An average person spends over 2 hours per day on apps. This means more chances of getting noticed by the customer even when they are not actively looking to buy something.

One-to-one Marketing Channel - Apps save money and effort involved in advertising the USPs of your offering. Retailers can have direct access to customers via location based push notifications to share promotions, seasonal sales, deals, exclusive stocks, news feeds and works.


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Value Creation - Delighting a customer is not limited to useful info. But has transcended to giving special coupons, discounts and loyalty rewards via mobile apps. This implies more app downloads, suggest to friend recommendations, favorable feedback and return business.

Brand Building and Recognition - Mobile apps serve as wonderful billboards. When used wisely to involve customers, they can turn prospects into active buyers by the sheer charm exuded through its design.

Edge over Competition - Assumption that every retailer has an app might prove wrong. There is a huge scope to gain an advantageous head start in capturing that market share with your shopping app. Not only it’s a cool way to connect but also conveys the message of “futuristic” thinking on your part.

Long Term Customer Loyalty - Customers today are ready to share their location and personal details with your retail app as long as they receive value in return. This in turn creates loyalty.Instead of being present anywhere and everywhere throughout social media platforms, focus your online retail marketing strategy on a do-it-all app that brings you right to your customers’ finger-tips.


A survey study by Compuware has shown that “85% of consumers prefer to shop on apps rather than mobile websites” owing it to the convenience, speed and ease of use apps provide.

While devising your mobile app strategy, you will need to weigh all the pros and cons; your available budget, intended app purposes, features you want built, level of customization and target audience.

Before Developing Your Mobile App Strategy…

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Before jumping in blindly, here are some thoughts you should consider:

Will the mobile app give you the required ROI? While the excitement of doing something new is comprehensible, the strategy should be financially viable and increase the market share.

Does the app support all stages of successful purchasing by customer? Aspects like Inventory Management, Customer Support, Sales Associate Training or Online Payment Platform should not be missed while chalking out the mobile plan.

What are the hardware and device options for your app? Doing thorough research on what devices and hardware platforms work for your purpose is crucial and pays off in long term. Development and Maintenance costs should be taken into the ambit at this stage.


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Do you want your app to talk to the customers even when they are offline? Some additional investment in the app development can ensure the data is stored locally on the phone to allow browsing of the downloaded content even when there is no Internet connectivity.

How do you want to increase the traffic on your mobile app? Retail Marketing team need to take a call what will drive user traffic - Exclusive features, promotions/offers, ease of use, variety basket of brands/goods or relevant product alerts. This is imperative if a business is trying to open up new revenue streams or enhance brand loyalty.

How to structure the feedback and measure success? Engage the customers and sales associates to know whether the mobile app process give desired results. Improve the process by consumer choice analytics, running a quick check on quarterly sales and overall streamlining of new technology with customer expectations.

Mobile Apps for Retail – Next Level Expectations:

As the number of retailers relying on mobile apps for sales keeps surging, both the approach and output of these apps is expected to become more integrative and highly responsive to customer needs.

Many use retail mobile apps on their tablets too. However, phones are the most heavily used.


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How Do People Search On Mobile Devices?

40%Search on

Their Tablet

60%Search on

Their Phone

Source: iACQUIRE

Here are a few ideas to keep in mind while creating your mobile strategy deployment plan:

Manage the challenge of newer additional devices in terms of remotely tracking and deploying apps.

Continuous improvement of business process to make it more customer friendly with innovative add-ons and benefits.


Making the apps more localized and social, thereby giving customers exactly what they want. It should be able to speak with other social networking platforms.

Active and comprehensive help to the customer while shopping on mobile apps has to undergo some revamping to be really useful. Detailed FAQs, reliability of product reviews, customer support via email and call needs to be prompt without lengthy procedures.

Build on the “in-store” functionality in locations where it is yet to be made popularized like any other common app feature. This will allow the customers to view store layouts, create shopping list, get proximity alerts and get personalized offers on the go.

Enhance the maturity of app offering by taking into account the quality of rich media like videos, 360-degree product views and product zoom features. Barcode scanning also has to play catch up in terms of frequency of use.

With around 70-75% mobile searches leading to purchase within 1 hour as per iAcquire, there is no escaping from the fact that “Smartphone owners are Smartphone Shoppers”.

Banking on this here-to-stay-for-a-long-time trend, the retail industry needs to accelerate the efforts in securing the consumer’s attention and interest through mobile apps.

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Tech-savvy customers are the future shoppers, and mobile apps serve as the medium that will power retail into the future.

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The potential with mobile applications native to their store is massive, and the emerging technologies and trends are not slowing down. New apps are being released often, and with that comes exciting, new and improved interfaces.

The question now makes it not if, but how will you use mobile technolo-gies in your retail business when you start using them to grow your brand awareness, loyal customer base, and bottom line?


Technology

Implementing Mobile Application on your retail Store