With bricks-and-mortar-retail stores continuing to struggle with the rise of 'showrooming' consumers (who visit a store to see a product but then buy online), there are still several ways retailers can entice mobile-carrying consumers to make purchases while they're still in-store, according to research from Aimia and Columbia Business School.
Retailers know that a shopper with a smartphone has access to every competing outlet and offer but, suggests David Rogers, co-author of the study and a professor at Columbia Business School, they aren't powerless against the showrooming phenomenon. For from it. However, it is critically important retailers understand the real impact of smartphones on shopper behaviour, which in turn will allow them to design a more appropriate retail experience that gives mobile consumers a strong reason to buy in-store instead of going home and buying online later.
The research report, entitled 'Showrooming and the Rise of the Mobile-Assisted Shopper' identified five distinct segments of mobile-assisted shoppers and uncovers clear opportunities for retailers to engage and retain these tech-savvy customers.
"Retailers don't have to resort to automatic price-matching," explained Rick Ferguson, a co-author of the study and vice president of knowledge development for Aimia. "M-Shoppers show a strong willingness to join loyalty programmes in exchange for rewards, and this gives retailers the chance to build long-term relationships with them."
Among the report's key findings:
The researchers looked at the attitudes, shopping patterns, and motivations of 3000 leading-edge consumers in the US, UK, and Canada to better understand how mobile devices are impacting their in-store shopping habits; identifying those shoppers most likely to showroom; and outlining actions retailers can take - such as loyalty programmes, price matching, free shipping, and mobile payments - to encourage consumers to open their wallets in-store. The results paint a clear picture of today's mobile assisted shoppers - or M-shopper - and debunks commonly held assumptions many brick-and-mortar retailers make about retail showroomers.
Five key segments - and how to lure them back
The research found that there are five distinct types of mobile-assisted shoppers and uncovered clear opportunities for retailers to engage and retain the business of these tech-savvy customers:
"Our findings debunked many of the common assumptions about the threat of showrooming, and who is doing it," concluded Matthew Quint, a co-author of the study and director of Columbia Business School's Center for Global Brand Leadership. "Many shoppers with smartphones care about more than just the lowest price on every item. In fact, while roughly 25% of M-Shoppers may require a discount to motivate in-store purchases, a clear majority can be enticed to purchase in-store through information assistance, engagement strategies, and strong loyalty rewards programmes."
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