It’s likely you’ve seen customers in your stores looking at their smartphones as they shop. Marketing Land reports 90 percent of shoppers use their phones while shopping, with the dominant activities including comparing prices (54 percent), searching for product information (48 percent), and browsing online reviews (42 percent). Shoppers are increasingly blending the in-store experience with online research, which presents opportunities for retailers to take advantage of these omnichannel experiences.
Using mobile to engage customers isn’t limited to what people see on their own devices. Retail stores can use mobile to offer faster checkouts, improved supply management, and better salesperson assistance, too. Five mobile experts share how retailers can harness the power of smartphones and other mobile devices to increase sales in their stores.
Tip #1: Equip Sales Assistants With Mobile Scanning
From Nick Ismail, Reporter for Information Age
In order to improve what Ismail calls “seamless retail,” stores should embrace digital capabilities consumers have come to expect. Just like shoppers can see if products are sold-out online and get all the information on products they need when they’re shopping on the web, using mobile to take care of back-end inventory awareness details and pull up product info in a store improves the shopping experience.
How to Do This for Your Business:
Have sales associates use a retail mobile app with scanning capabilities while they’re on the floor. This allows them to complete transactions immediately so customers can skip the checkout line, get information on products and answers to any questions shoppers have, and update fulfillment and other staff when products are running low. A phone swipe app like that offered by North allows for tablet and smartphone transaction capabilities and receipt delivery via text message.
Tip #2: Make Shopping More Interactive and Fun
From Anna Ni Chiaruain, Content Marketing Executive at LogoGrab
Allow shoppers to bypass the salesperson experience completely with instant research through the use of logo-recognition technology. Consumers can scan the logo of an in-store product to view rich details regarding its characteristics. This reinforces a relationship between the consumer and the product, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.
How to Do This for Your Business:
Devise ways to make the shopping experience more interactive. You can include QR codes near products that give consumers a way to learn more about products when they scan. Consider creating your own standalone app that incentivizes users to visit more of your store, whether it’s a scavenger hunt that gives points for discounts or special coupon codes for items in various locations.
Tip #3: Make It Easier to Find What’s in Your Store
From Dan Rowinski, Editor-in-Chief of ARC
One of the top mobile experiences shoppers want is store guidance: the ability to find the items they came to your store intending to buy, and a layout of the store so they can easily find other products. The convenience of ecommerce should be translated to a brick-and-mortar store, which helps customers find what they need quickly and hassle-free.
How to Do This for Your Business:
Create a web experience for each of your locations that includes a store map and a search tool that allows consumers to type in a category or item name and be guided to where to find it. Make the experience even better by suggesting related items nearby or offering more details on the product, such as discount information.
Tip #4: Use Beacon Technology
From Phil Britt, Mobile Technology Journalist
A beacon is a low-cost piece of hardware that uses Bluetooth connections to transmit messages to smartphone users. Beacon technology makes a shopping experience more personal by sending content to users that directly relates to products they are near, such as special offers. Insights gleaned through mobile payments can also provide beacons with information to make future offers more personalized.
How to Do This for Your Business:
Implementing beacon technology means more than giving special offers. It enables retailers to provide product information like price and technical specifications automatically, without the customer having to search for it. Beacon notifications can also prompt users to take specific actions, such as downloading a brand mobile app upon arriving at a store to take advantage of more offers.
Tip #5: Enable Scan-and-Go Capabilities
From Robbie Abed, Technology Journalist
Take away the pain of having to lug bulky items out of your store by offering in-store ordering and mobile delivery to your customers. Sync up self-checkout performance with quick shipping. Customers can still enjoy the tactile feel of products as their shopping, but they’ll be able to unpack and put items away after items are delivered to them at their convenience.
How to Do This for Your Business:
Just like a store whose items are connected to a registry, allow for mobile scanning of items that are added to a shopping list for customers as they’re browsing. When they’ve completed their journeys through your store, they can add items they’ve scanned into a wish list into a group of what they want to purchase. They can pay for the items in your store and leave bag-free. They’ll be less likely to return items compared to if they had shopped your online store, since they’ve already been able to see the items in person.
Improve Your Store Experience With North
From reliable and secure credit card processing, to customizable tablet payment solutions, North can help your store implement payment processing your customers will trust and your employees will appreciate. Boost efficiency and ensure security with retail merchant solutions from North. Contact us at North here, or call 877-840-1952 for more information.
