Unlike conventional businesses, pure play retailers focus all their efforts on a single product or service. But no pure play retailer can generate more sales revenue by focusing on brick and mortar stores. Nowadays, most users prefer web stores to conventional brick and mortar stores. Likewise, they use the internet for performing pre-purchase research and experience richer shopping experience. However, a pure play retailer can no longer drive digital sales through eCommerce websites. A proper mobile strategy for pure play retailers has become absolutely necessary.
With customer spending over 50% digital media time on mobile apps, it becomes essential for pure play retailers to adopt a steady mobile strategy. They must optimize their eCommerce websites for mobile devices to improve customer experience and divert search engine traffic. Also, they need to launch mobile apps to reach out to more customers, facilitate pre-purchase research, and drive digital sales. Each pure play retailer can further reap a number of benefits by adopting a comprehensive mobile strategy.
7 Reasons Why Adopting Mobile Strategy For Pure Play Retailers Is Essential
1) Desktop browsing has been on the decline
Several studies suggest that desktop web usage has been on the decline. Recently, mobile web usage even overtook desktop web usage. Most users nowadays access internet through mobile devices. They even access eCommerce websites on their smartphones or tablets. Hence, no pure-play retailers can drive digital sales through eCommerce websites. For effective pre-purchase research and seamless mobile transactions, it’s crucial to opt for eCommerce software development tailored for mobile optimization, ensuring customers can effortlessly browse and purchase products/services on their mobile devices. You can explore more on how important is mobile strategy in eCommerce application development.
2) Customers spend over 50% Digital media time on mobile apps
As highlighted by several studies, customers nowadays spend more digital time on mobile devices than computers. Likewise, customers spend over 50% of their digital media time on mobile apps. The massive popularity of mobile apps compels many retailers focus on mobile commerce. A pure-play retailer can launch a mobile app to reach out to more customers and capture their digital media time. The mobile app will further help the retailer to promote his product/service effectively, and boost digital sales by serving mobile ads.
3) Mobile commerce is growing faster than eCommerce
Many customers nowadays prefer web stores to brick and mortar stores. But the data posted on various website depict that mobile commerce is outpacing eCommerce in the category of growth. Most users nowadays use their mobile devices to collect information about products/services, compare prices, and read customer reviews. Likewise, they prefer buying products through mobile apps and make payment using mobile wallets. A pure play retailer can leverage the astounding mobile commerce growth by launching a mobile app. At the same time, he also needs to explore ways to improve the mobile user experience delivered by the eCommerce website.
4) Customers expectations and behaviour keep changing
The mobile technologies have already transformed the behaviour and expectations of customers across various sectors. The pure play retailers must take advantage of mobile technologies to meet the changing behaviour and expectations of customers. They can use their mobile app as a robust tool to enable customers to access information, explore buying options, and purchase products anytime and anywhere. Likewise, the mobile technologies will help the pure play retailers to personalize buying experience through notifications, recommendation, promotion, deals, and search. The personalized shopping experience will help the retailer to drive digital sales and promote customer loyalty.
5) Customers prefer mobile wallets to conventional payment options
Many customers nowadays abandon shopping carts if the web store does not allow them to use their preferred payment method. But a large percentage of modern customers prefer mobile wallets to conventional payment methods like debit/credit cards and internet banking. The mobile wallets enable customers to make payment in a fast, convenient, and secure way. The growing popularity of mobile wallets creates new digital marketing opportunities for pure play retailers. In addition to complementing the mobile app strategy, the mobile wallets also help pure play retailers to boost sales through offers, coupons, reward points, gift cards, and loyalty programs.
6) Enterprises need a variety of actionable customer data
Like other enterprises, pure play retailers must deliver personalized customer experiences to stay relevant and profitable in the long run. The mobile apps make it easier for pure play retailers to collect real-time customer data from various sources. Also the retailers can use the actionable customer data to personalize shopping experience. The mobile apps will further help the retailer to understand customer behaviour based on important metrics like customer profile, purchase history, and loyalty program data. They also need to enable features for regular user feedback collection through mobile apps. At the same time, the retailer can also use the mobile app as a robust tool to improve customer experience by leveraging technologies like big data, beacons and predictive analytics.
7) Bridge the gap between in-store and online customer experience
The rising shipping expenses compel many online pure play retailers to focus on in-store experience. Many analysts even believe that large online pure play retailers will soon switch to brick and mortar stores to curtail shipping expenses. A pure play retailer cannot reduce shipping expenses by launching a mobile app. But he can use the mobile app as a robust tool to improve customer experience and bridge the gap between online and in-store customer experience. The retailer can integrate online metrics and in-store metrics to understand customer behaviour precisely. The in-store technologies line Beacons further enable retailers to boost in-store sales through specific hardware.
On the whole, the mobile apps have completely changed the way customers perform pre-purchase research and buy products. No pure play retailer can remain competitive and profitable in the long run without adopting a mobile strategy. The mobile strategy must explore ways to improve customer experience through mobile-friendly eCommerce website and mobile commerce app. However, it also needs to explore ways to use the mobile app as a tool to monitor customer behaviour and expectations.