Retailers may be putting more expensive eCommerce innovations on the back burner, for now but by 2013-2014, mobile is the number one priority for more than 50% of the UK’s largest retailers.
Internet Retailing 2012 – The Mantle of Leadership – Novotel, Hammersmith, London – 9th October 2012
More on this subject at the Internet Retailing Conference 2012
Well over half put the development of mobile applications in their top three priorities for the next two years, while it is the top priority for just under one third of retailers.
Similarly, over one third put integration with social media, and social commerce in their top three developments, whilst ‘website development’ is a top three priority for just over a quarter.
Given that more than half of online retailers think ‘using appropriate technology’ is a barrier to innovation, these medium term priorities suggest significant investment. Many retailers will need to acquire new technologies, and even carry out eCommerce platform migrations, in order to realise their mobile, social and web development ambitions by 2014.
Clearly those are potentially expensive, time and resource hungry investments. It is therefore critical retailers develop in-depth understanding of how consumer behaviour and propensity to search and buy online is changing with the rise of multiple mobile devices.
Darren Hitchcock, EMEA VP, Rich Relevance believes that given the rapid growth of mobile, and particularly tablet commerce, the fact that the majority seem happy to wait and see before investing presents an opportunity for those retail brands prepared to take the plunge now, “Provided the solutions put in pace are effective and deliver an elegant customer experience, those retailers will enjoy a degree of first mover advantage. Along with that comes the opportunity to take market share from close rivals, cement a positive reputation and, if the right analytics are in place, build loyalty by responding first to consumer trends.”
New research from Eccomplished, The Power of 3: Mobile, Tablet and Browser working best together explores the critical relationship between these three devices and how search and purchase behaviour is changing across Europe.