Are Retailers Missing Out On ‘Supershoppers?’

Shoppers today just aren’t what they used to be.

In fact, Google describes them as supershoppers — many of which utilize the power of their mobile devices to influence their shopping experience and, as a result, are more informed and efficient than ever before.

According to recent data from Google, nearly 76 percent of shoppers who search for something nearby on their mobile device actually visit a related business within a day, and 28 percent of those searches lead to a purchase.

“Once they’re inside your store, they expect the experience to be a seamless one: More than 40 percent of smartphone shoppers want retailers to automatically surface relevant information, such as the location of the item in the store, a special deal or related products,” Google said in an Inside AdWords blog post.

“Supershoppers live up to their name as the holiday season progresses. From November through mid-December, we see online conversion rates increase across devices. Last year, on mobile alone, they jumped 30 percent on Black Friday and 50 percent on Cyber Monday when compared to Nov. 1.”

As the 2016 holiday season quickly approaches, how can retailers keep up with the pace of these supershoppers?

If the latest The State of the Mobile Experience Report from PointSource is any indication, then merchants may still have a long way to go.

The study revealed that the majority of key influencers and decision-makers across industries admitted their company’s mobile experience does not meet user expectations.

On a 10-point scale, only 37 percent of retailers ranked their existing mobile experience as nine or above. More than half (54 percent) of the retail respondents said their biggest barrier was delivering an integrated mobile strategy that fit into an overarching marketing strategy. Only one-third are tracking purchasing history via mobile, which may show a missed opportunity on the part of merchants to improve the customer experience over time.

“A company’s ability to engage, convert and retain consumers on mobile will depend on their commitment to the user experience,” Stephanie Trunzo, chief digital officer and COO at PointSource, said in a statement. “The user experience is increasingly the critical differentiator as the mobile landscape becomes overpopulated with options, giving consumers the power to easily shop multiple offerings, decreasing switching costs and reducing the stickiness of previous brand loyalty.”