Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

US consumers see mobile devices as key shopping tools

And yet mobile payments are still stalled in the US

The number-one use of smartphones during the shopping process is comparing prices, cited by 36% of mobile shoppers. Other common smartphone tasks include gathering product information (30%) and checking product reviews (30%). (See Chart 1.)

For 2018, GfK's global FutureBuy(R) research covers 35 countries and 18 product categories, from home appliances to wearables to beauty and personal care. All in all, over 35,000 consumers were interviewed worldwide.

The study contains mixed news for brick-and-mortar stores. Showrooming - shopping in a store and then buying online - is essentially stable in the US, reported by just 23% of shoppers. But roughly half (48%) of US consumers said they can "see a future where traditional retail stores are not a big factor" in how they shop - up 11 points from 2017 (37%).

"The desire or need to shop is often spontaneous, and most consumers have their smartphones nearby at all times," said Joe Beier, EVP of Consumer Insights at GfK. "So it is no surprise that mobile technology is playing a growing - and increasingly complex - role in shopper journeys. While shopping online overall is driven largely by a search for savings, the mobile component is often about research on-the-go. And we should not see traditional retail as somehow pitted against the mobile element; often they work together - and those who can deliver a seamless experience will be more likely to capture the sale."

Mobile payments still stuck in neutral?
Looking at the bigger picture of reasons for purchasing online versus in store, over half (52%) of those who bought online say they did so to save money. By contrast, those who bought in a store are most likely to cite "see product before buy" (45%) or "get products sooner" (44%) as reasons.

The study also shows that adoption of mobile payments in the US - and globally - remains low. Just 17% of US consumers have used their smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device to pay for a product (including payments via services like PayPal and Venmo) in the past 6 months. This compares to 29% in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, and the global average of 19%. Yet almost three in ten (28%) US consumers say they "look forward to - paying for more and more transactions" via mobile devices - almost double the 2017 level of 17%.

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)