People are using mobile phones to access websites and apps more than ever before, with 33 percent using their phones to access a retailer website, and an additional 26% indicated they plan to access retailer websites or mobile apps by phone in the future, according to a new report from ForeSee Results.
“It looks like more than half of all shoppers will soon be using their mobile phones for retail purposes,” said Kevin Ertell, vice president of Retail Strategy at ForeSee Results and author of today’s report.
“Any retailer not actively working to develop, measure, and refine its mobile experience is leaving money on the table for competitors.”
Shoppers who are highly satisfied with a mobile experience say they are 30% more likely to buy from that retailer online and 30% more likely to buy offline, as well as being far more likely to return to the main website, recommend it, and be loyal to the brand.
“It’s another reminder and a nice way to quantify that every customer touch point matters to overall loyalty and sales,” added Ertell. “Retailers cannot afford to ignore or even neglect the mobile experience and assume it won’t hurt their traditional online or in-store business.”
In general, shoppers rate their satisfaction with retail websites significantly higher (78 on the study’s 100-point scale) than their satisfaction with mobile experiences (apps and sites) (75).
“It’s true that mobile sites have far less maturity than traditional e-retail websites,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results.
“But I’m not sure that matters to consumers. Their expectations are being set by the best websites and the best mobile experiences. They aren’t going to have a lot of patience for excuses about the challenges that mobile shopping presents when it comes to design and usability. Retailers need to step up their game in this area.”
Other highlights of the report include:
* A total of 11% of web shoppers reported having made a purchase from their phones this holiday season, compared to only 2% at this time last year.
*The majority of shoppers who used their phones did so to compare price information (56%). Shoppers also used their phones to compare different products (46%), to look up product specifications (35%), and to view product reviews (27%).
*While in physical stores, more than two-thirds of mobile shoppers (69%) used their phones to visit the store’s own website, but nearly half (46%) also used their phones to access a competitor’s website.