As smartphones increasingly become shopping companions, some retailers may fear patrons will take their business elsewhere. But they should see this as an opportunity to ensure their own mobile sites and apps provide maximum convenience and usability for in-store customers.
And retailers are catching on to this—49% said the mobile experience was one of their top customer engagement priorities, according to a 2019 report from BPR Consulting. Acknowledging the importance of mobile is a smart move toward innovation, even though offline sales will still account for 89.1% of total retail sales in the US this year, per our estimates.
That is not to say that marketers should move away from investing in store associates altogether. They should make sure their employees are knowledgeable, well-trained and readied with mobile devices of their own. According to November 2018 research from Zebra Technologies, 66% of retail store associates feel they could provide better customer service if equipped with tablets.
With mobile technology on hand, Retail Touchpoints found that store associates are able to provide customers with product availability information, as well as process online orders of out-of-stock items and transact mobile payments.