Demystifying mobile for retailers

Whilst our needs as shoppers haven’t changed, digital, and especially mobile, has transformed how we shop. Today we expect our shopping experience to be everywhere, instant and personal – driven by mobile.

An obvious one - the use of social media check-ins - has been widely exploited by retailers in recent years, a common example giving customers a discount for using Foursquare to check in. Starbucks employed this tactic, rewarding ‘majors’ of each of their venues (i.e. those individuals who had checked in the most) with discounts. However, these strategies – especially in the UK – are dwindling dramatically in favour of driving customers to a single, dedicated app, other social media channel or other mobile-driven experience. Why?

Two key things to bear in mind:

1.) Social media tools are tactics that support a broader marketing and communications strategy. Social media is not an objective in itself.

Retailers must decide on their objectives and, subsequently, the best means to achieve and measure these. Any activity must be appropriate to the target audience. Be clear on the message they are trying to convey, and what the most appropriate method of delivery is.

2.) Awareness of social check-in services is still startlingly low. Even in America (which has seen a higher uptake of this strategy) a reported 74 per cent of Americans are unfamiliar with the concept of checking in to a location via mobile device, only three per cent have ever checked in. According to Jay Baer in ‘Convince and Convert’ more damning is that four per cent had checked in when surveyed in 2011. This implies that far from connecting with customers, this ploy (even among early adopters) has lost its appeal to other, more interesting and valuable services on offer.

What do we learn from this? Retailers must become savvier in how they communicate with customers. There is no longer a path to purchase; instead it is an intertwining journey of search, shop and social – fuelled by mobile. Search is the question of what the customer needs and how they find it? Shop - the in-store or on-line experience; and Social - the interactions we have with other people both in and out of the store. Most particularly, mobile must form part of an integrated approach. Retailers must remember that with the touch of a button, customers have the power to communicate bad experiences and brand failings with the entire socially-present customer base.

How are retailers using mobile today?

Mobile enables today’s shopper to access everything they need, from checking points balance, to accessing discounts, coupons and recipes and even making a payment, through one touch point – the ‘Single App’. These omnichannel apps consolidate and realign the full retail offering behind a single touch point, providing customers with the full range of retailer operations in the palm of their hand. This means they can shop anywhere, instantly, but also have a unique and personal experience when they visit the store.

One of the most valuable functions of mobile is its ability to bring experience to life in-store. Take Tapestry, an iPhone and Android app launched in partnership with Diesel, which helps to provide shoppers with a 360-degree online-meets-offline experience. The app enables customers to tap their phone against an NFC point or scan a QR code and access a whole series of information from seeing how the product is made to it being worn on the catwalk. It also acts like a bookmarking tool – like a real-world version of Pinterest. It helped to make the products more personally relevant to the consumer.

So…. Are bricks and mortar retailers dead? Will all retail move online? In short, absolutely not. Retailers must be aware of the changing landscape and the increasingly sophisticated expectations of today’s digitally savvy shopper. Retailers should be using mobile and digital to create immersive, interactive experiences for shoppers which both enhance the environment and incentivise customers to go in-store.

Mobile, retail and learnings from Asia…..

Asian countries have been swiftest in embracing – and exploiting – opportunities that mobile presents. They’ve often been quicker off the mark than their western counterparts, which is one reason we believe Europe has a lot to learn from the East. Another reason is that they’ve also been braver – both creatively and when it comes to testing technology. Tesco, for example, continues to test new retail technologies in Asia. Its award-winning HomePlus virtual store in a Seoul subway – a concept devised and implemented by Cheil, and subsequently copied by retailers across the world – has become the benchmark of Everywhere retail. The store is indicative of how South Korean retailers continue to redefine the shopping experience.

Another retailer – and Cheil client – working to meet the expectations of today’s shoppers is Emart, the largest retailer in South Korea, which recently breathed life into the ‘location everywhere’ mantra with a flying store. No surprise that it was a big hit with Korean shoppers. Whilst its highly successful Sunny Sale campaign used more traditional technology – a shadow QR code, the first of its kind – Emart promoted specific discounts for when people shopped at lunchtime. The QR code took shoppers directly to their mobile store where they could take advantage of the offers instantly.

Emart has also demonstrated how smartphones might help us shop through Sale Navigation – a campaign devised by Cheil. The retailer used new-store technology that enabled shoppers to locate the best offers in-store with their smartphones. It started with a tried and tested price promotion, but it also created an opportunity to deliver solutions to shoppers, to educate and to inspire.

While it might not be realistic for every retailer to pull off campaigns of this size and cost, it shows the possibilities open to retailers to use mobile and technology to engage customers.