Editor's Note
Enhance Your
In-Store Experience
Marc Birenbaum Executive Editor
mbirenbaum@creativeage.com
"We see
mobile
payments
as the big
shift next
holiday
season and
beyond."
4 March 2013 | beautystorebusiness.com
ACCORDING TO A NATIONWIDE
holiday-shopping poll conducted by GfK
Roper in conjunction with SapientNitro,
seven in 10 Americans agree that
"retailers could do more to enhance the
in-store shopping experience." Highly valued enticements include:
• 79% said they wanted the ability to
buy products in-store, but have them
shipped to their homes for free
• 63% requested free Wi-Fi
• 57% indicated the value of interactive
displays or kiosks that provide additional information or recommendations
about a product
• 56% stated they desired exclusive in-store
mobile offers
Among smartphone users polled:
• 67% would like to view store circulars/
flyers on their phones
• 59% asked for in-store navigation
smartphone apps
• 59% also want the option of mobile
payment or to check out by scanning
their mobile phones
"Many of our retail clients are redefining their in-store shopping experience
to reach today's connected consumer,"
says Chris Davey, global head of commerce
at marketing and technology services firm
SapientNitro (sapientnitro.com). "The 2012
[third annual] holiday shopping season
marked a fundamental shift in which
retailers not only recognized but accommodated digital shoppers in the in-store
experience. From investing in GPS-enabled
store maps or updating mobile-shopping
apps for smartphones and tablets, retailers placed big bets on today's 'always-on'
shopper—and both parties won. Their
efforts made holiday shopping easier,
but have raised consumer expectations
for more."
As far as "showrooming"—using brick
and mortars to browse products while
planning to buy a product later online—
the poll also reported:
• 51% participated in it
• Four in 10—up from 33% in 2011—say
they purchased a product in a brick and
mortar after researching the product online
• 27% say they purchased a product online
after shopping for a similar item in a brick
and mortar
The overall trend in online shopping
continued to rise, with 41% of digital users
saying that compared to 2011 they shopped
more online than at brick and mortars.
Savvy smartphone owners used their
devices at a higher rate in 2012 across a
wide variety of shopping behaviors, including:
• 82% researched and browsed for products
• 74% bought something
• 62% used an email offer from a retailer
• 56% made use of a consumer-rating site
to help them decide to buy a product
• 33% purchased a product using a
mobile coupon
"One area we think will be transforming the retail landscape is mobile
payments," adds Davey. "The industry
must align quickly" with mobile-payment
options, he notes. "As competing cloudbased and NFC models are sorted out and
stores install the required technology, we
see mobile payments as the big shift next
holiday season and beyond."
A selection of video interviews and infographics can be viewed at slideshare.net/
sapient/sapientnitro-gfk-roper-survey. ■