Most retailers think of only online sales when it comes to mobile buyers, but data show that brick and mortar should be looking to mobile to promote in-store sales.
When measuring the contribution of mobile in total store sales, retailers must analyze the full purchase cycle.
Retailers who know how to interact with and retain customers on their mobile devices are more likely to convert in-store.
Retail and eCommerce businesses are attempting to take advantage of the tremendous mobile opportunity provided by mobile apps. According to recent research, customers spent approximately $111 billion in-app globally in 2020, up 30.2 percent year over year (YoY).
While online sales are crucial to retailers, we must remember that, as highlighted in a recent report, "mobile and online transactions represent only a sliver of overall retail revenue potential."
It's easy for internet marketers to imagine old brick-and-mortar businesses as dusty ghost towns abandoned in favor of the gleaming gleam of everything digital. However, the truth is that 93% of retail purchases are still made in-store.
Our research, experience, and the advice of experts that work for and with industry leaders on the latest developments in the app and mobile-first marketing revealed the newest techniques and insights during recent research to help harness such tremendous growth in your business.
Adapting to meet the Demands of Mobile Commerce
Over the last year, we've noticed a significant shift in customer behavior. People are investing more time at home and on their phones.
As a result, we want to make sure we're engaging with them wherever they are. We're looking into making that omnichannel experience more simplified and integrated and ensuring that we're leveraging the channel that the customer prefers to communicate with us through to provide a personalized experience.
Also, BOPIS (purchase online, pick up in-store), curbside pickup, store stock check, loyalty, coupons, customization, and making the phone vital to your customer's complete shopping trip and the connection is critical.
However, you also don't have reacquisition fees when they shop with you as an app customer because you can send push notifications and engage them directly.
Increasing Conversions and Engagement
In a survey, most participants (74%) chose mobile apps as the most important medium for connecting with clients. Mobile apps and SMS/text messaging came in second and third, respectively, with 65% and 65% citing them (42 %).
Brands have traditionally spent a lot of time focusing on a single channel and not necessarily on multichannel interaction. We've witnessed a rapid shift to using many tracks in the last year or so.
Because of the mobile environment and everyone being on their phones now, I'm seeing more retailers leveraging SMS post-Covid.
In that case, email is our bread and butter. We have a robust paid media program and a very loyal consumer base that enjoys our email campaign.
We also use various email finder tools provided by multiple companies for person search to connect with new clients and leads, which allows us to find professional email addresses of professional audiences worldwide. Farther, allowing us to expand and improve our sales in this competitive marketplace.
Like, we've identified a fantastic tool (Getemail.io) for you thanks to our team's considerable research and experience. We always find Getemail.io to be a great way to save time when we use it.
Thanks to GetEmail.io is a free tool that allows you to look for the email addresses of various merchants, customers, and other lodging firms and brands.
They employ Big Data and AI to locate anyone's Professional Email address and provide a free trial.
Moreover, we also launched live chat, and we've been talking about web notifications, which we've been talking about but is still new to us.
Our retail workers are a major contributor to app downloads. You wouldn't expect the stores to have such a significant impact.
For example, The half-hours beginning at 1230, 1730, and 1930, which are all times of day when most individuals are taking a break from, leaving, or returning home from work, were the most efficient times to send push notifications for the biggest response during the peak period of Black Friday.
Making Minor Changes that have a Large Impact
How simple app modifications may lead to significant outcomes for sales and growth, in addition to exploring underutilized innovations like in-app messaging, mobile wallet, and SMS that can have enormous upside prospects.
From a digital marketing standpoint, we began ensuring that clients who had previously downloaded the app were sent to the app rather than the mobile web when we emailed them.
Then we implemented it across all of our paid channels, including sponsored campaign advertising that directed customers to the app's discounted assortment.
We didn't send people back to the app if they engaged with us and received an email.
If you left your basket or browsing session while using the Belk app, we'd send you an email with a link to return to it.
That was a significant victory for us, and sales penetration confirms that our ideas are working.
In a poll, attendees said that links in emails for app downloads were the most popular app acquisition techniques they were using today, providing a free and owned channel for retailers to communicate the benefits of installing the app.
Final Thoughts:
For years, personalization has shaped internet sales, and mobile is simply an extension of that. Shoppers want experiences that are designed specifically for them; 85% said they would be more likely to shop at stores that give personalized coupons and special deals in-store.
Stores that can leverage mobile to offer a personalized shopping experience while also providing competitive product insights will convert more customers.