For bricks-and- mortar stores, the steady growth of online extension has revamped their stagnant operations. These companies are realizing the importance of a booming e-commerce while uplifting their physical sale. With the steady increase in mobile tech developments in recent years, many local retailers have readily made the shift to mobile commerce or m-commerce.
This can be contributed to the fact that mobile platforms create a more personalized, touch- friendly shopping experience than that of the erstwhile e-portals. Currently, it is not enough for retailers to just ensure that their customers have a great in-store experience. They need to be a cut above the rest, hence the requirement lies in innovation to get new customers, keep their existing ones, and promote repeat transaction from both. Here are 5 ways in which m-commerce is helping retailers expand to a higher level:
1. Coupons
Retailers frequently get hassled while incorporating m-commerce into their revenue scale. A sure shot way to bank upon this trend is through the utilization of coupons. Coupons occupy a point of attraction in customer psyche- simply put, people like lucrative offers. Coupons ensure generation of impactful buzz, which amounts to a revamp on the revenue scale. Push notifications are generally seen as less intrusive as compared to spammy mails, making it a wonderful tool to boost services.
2. Loyalty schemes
Loyalty programmes can be easily implemented, through mobile platforms. For a certain amount of purchase, the said customer can be chosen for loyalty programme. Through these tailor-made programs, retailers can provide special discounts, freebies and added benefits to make them feel rewarded, in turn ensuring customer retention. This is an effective traction to earn trust and referrals, providing a space for the emergence of word-of-mouth promotions.
3. Mobile storefront
Often websites are too heavy to be supported on their mobile counterparts, with consumers often bewildered with navigation. Retailers can create a smart, clean mobile website, keeping it basic, keep graphics light, and make it very easy for consumers to navigate through. This works as an advantage for any sort of purchase as an interactive website helps in retaining customer engagement scale to an optimized level. A good user-friendly website ensures larger scale of pay-per-click, leading to a rise in ROI. Remember to work on the navigation factor, to make the website more comprehensive.
4. Customer insights
One of the additional uses of mobile platforms is to collect data. This, in turn, helps in crafting an extensive customer profile. Every customer has an individualistic purchase pattern, which can be easily mapped down through keeping a tab on their consumption pattern. Mobile platforms can utilize these associations and voluntarily collect valuable information. On the basis of data parameters, retailers can customize the messages and services.
5. Apps
Apps help retailers transform smartphones into a powerful device, escalating user experience to an enhanced level. These petite applications require nominal space and fulfil a variety of requirements, transforming them into a tool of profit for most retailers. Apps are being built to mimic real-time shopping experience, decreasing the barrier between offline and online. They are successful in enhancing end-user involvement, making the device more productive to perform a plethora of general operations.
Conclusion for m-commerce
The power of m-commerce has liberated them from the shackles of ordinary retail tropes into a revolutionary ecosystem, benefiting both consumers and retailers. Although the incorporation of these platforms are in a nascent stage, with time a full-scale adoption would become necessary to flourish.
