Mobile shopping has been established as a mainstay in ecommerce – but are retailers’ apps and advertising making the most of the channel?
Consumers are living their lives through their mobile devices.
They’re checking for deals and reading reviews while browsing physical stores, researching purchases they’ll make later, or even making purchases from competitors offering the same goods at a cut price – all via their smartphones.
For retailers the question is a simple one: how can we make the most of this new, connected demographic?
The answer however is more difficult – mobile website or app? iOS or Android? The more technology evolves the more decisions retailers have to make to ensure they reach customers in the right place, at the right time.
The importance of the mobile web
Downloadable apps may be a good option for loyal customers, but the mobile web cannot be ignored – after all, 66% of all m-commerce takes place here.
Imagine a customer is looking for a particular brand of make-up but doesn’t know which shops stock it. Their first impulse is to search for the brand name, before potentially going on to buy via the mobile site or finding out where the nearest physical store is. It’s a fast and simple process for the user.
But without a strong mobile web offering to draw the shopper in at the crucial moment of discovery, the sale is lost to a competitor with a better, more mobile-friendly site.
Take Argos’ mobile strategy, for example. From its mobile site, consumers can look at products in stock in different stores and order for collection later on the same day.
In order to supercharge the effectiveness of its site the retailer also invested in localised ads – meaning those people searching for a specific product were immediately shown it was available at Argos.
The role of apps
Casual customers may be more likely to interact with a brand via mobile web, but the most loyal customers will download a retailer’s app in order to help with repeat purchases.
Apps offer greater potential for personalisation and help marketers identify specific customer segments and improve conversion rates.
Recent research has shown that retail is a particularly competitive space for apps as some users have more than 20 retail apps installed at any one time. So retailers need to up their game in usability but also discovery.
“Mobile creates moments for advertisers to engage users on a device they love. Making sure they delight their users in both apps and the web is essential”
Ian Carrington, Google
Tesco’s Groceries app is a more sophisticated and user-friendly version of its mobile web experience.
Tesco knows its mobile app users are more frequently amending and placing orders, so it uses login details to ensure baskets and favourites are seamless and consistent across screens.
Promotion of an app is crucial for increasing spend and frequency of existing shoppers, as well as driving long-term loyalty. Tesco promoted the app over the busy Christmas period using one of Google’s Universal App Campaigns and increased downloads by reaching three times as many users for a 38% lower cost per install compared to standard app promotions.
Mobile creates moments for advertisers to engage users on a device they love. Making sure they delight their users in both apps and the web is essential.
Measuring these moments is also critical – the retailers that correctly value mobile, while giving a great experience to both existing and potential new customers, will have their cake and eat it.
- Ian Carrington is the managing director of performance solutions and innovations EMEA at Google.
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