Keeping Up With The Robo Shopper Is Vital For Retail Success

James Richards, Director of Mobile, Intelligent Environments

The retail landscape has been changing for some time with the advent and subsequent adoption of technology transforming the way consumers select, compare and ultimately pay for products and services. While the use of the Internet to shop has long been known, the use of mobile technology in the purchasing process is increasingly having a larger impact on retailers and consumers alike.

A recent survey carried out by Intelligent Environments (IE) and YouGov showed over 51 per cent of UK adults now own a smartphone, demonstrating the tipping point for such adoption is well and truly here. Further to these findings, a recent Ofcom report into the mobile habits of the UK population also produced some interesting statistics highlighting exactly how smartphones are being used in the purchasing chain.

According to the survey, 31 per cent of respondents said they have used their handsets to take pictures of products they are interested in buying, while 21 per cent confirmed they read product reviews via their mobile phones. Further to this, 25 per cent of those involved in the research admitted to scanning a product barcode while on a shop floor in order to find out more about the product before purchasing.

A new level of understanding

The ubiquity of mobiles has lead to this new breed of consumer being labeled the ‘Robo Shopper’. These are people who are no longer content with simply walking into a store and taking a salesman’s word as gospel. Instead, they prefer to use all of the data available to them to make the most informed purchasing decision.

While some retailers see the emergence of a savvier consumer as a possible threat to sales and the need for a harder sell, smarter merchants have started to look at ways they can use this new mobile trend to their advantage. With so much information passing through a shopper’s mobile phone, these devices have turned into a treasure chest of information about individual consumer needs, wants and purchasing habits.

In order to harness this vast pool of information, some retailers have made the decision to invest in a joined up mobile based proposition that not only allows them to access and take advantage of this data, but also use it to push out bespoke offerings to their customers.

For example, if a customer’s data footprint shows they are in the market for a new gadget, a retailer could be alerted to this fact from activity such as scanned bar codes via their app or browsing on their e-commerce site. Using this information, a tailored offer can be sent directly to a potential customer’s phone, offering them a link to a website where they can purchase the gadget or maybe even a digital coupon which can they can take to the store. Furthermore, using GPS technology would allow their location to be recognized and should they come into close range of a certain store, the offer may be activated.

Boosting purchasing opportunities

However, utilizing this newly available customer data is only one way that retailers can maximize sales and create new opportunities. The smartphone is not just a research tool when it comes to purchasing. The vast amount of time and money large organizations such as Amazon and e-Bay have put into their mobile e-commerce sites is testament to the sheer amount of shopping taking place through this platform. While mobile sites are fast becoming a necessity for retailers seeking to maximize sales, some forward thinking brands have begun trialing innovative new offerings to boost the bottom line through blending offline and online shopping experiences.

Take supermarket giant Tesco for example, which recently trialed a virtual store at Gatwick airport. Here passengers can flick through a screen in the department lounge with images of its most popular products. These can then be scanned via a mobile phone to create a shopping list, which is then placed with Tesco and the goods delivered to the customer’s house when they return from their holiday.

In today’s world, consumers are less inclined than ever before to display loyalty to any one brand as they search out the best deals to suit their lifestyles. A proposition like this is a shrewd move by Tesco that looks to go against this trend and build consumer loyalty by offering value for money as well as the convenience to suit busy lifestyles. Considering that nearly one in seven online grocery orders involve the use of a smartphone (making up an industry value of £4.5 billion) the virtual store is testament to just how seriously Tesco takes the power of the mobile device.

With four billion mobile phones currently in use across the world, of which just over a quarter are smartphones, mobile Internet usage is expected to overtake desktop internet usage over by 2014. Taking this into consideration it is vital retailers adapt to and embrace mobile technology as it continues its path to becoming the most vital component in a shopper’s armory.