The Frustrated Shopper: Consumers' Mobile Technology Expectations Vs. Reality

Consumers are using their smartphones more frequently throughout the browsing and buying journey. As a result, their overall expectations of mobile offers and interactions are increasing.

While 44% of consumers want to earn and redeem loyalty points through their mobile phones, only 31% currently have these capabilities.

This infographic, courtesy of Mobiquity, uncovers results from a survey of 1,000 consumers regarding their mobile expectations and experiences.

[Click To Expand]

 

 

 

To view the original article please visit: http://www.retailtouchpoints.com/resources/type/infographics/the-frustrated-shopper-consumers-mobile-technology-expectations-vs-reality

 

5 Ways to Boost In-Store Sales

A challenge every retailer faces is how to increase sales in their store. While you may have considered improving the checkout experience, or offering gift cards, the question remains whether these efforts are worth it to your bottom line.
Our latest infographic looks at five different changes and updates retailers can make in their existing business to increase sales and boost profits. In addition to offering ideas, real world examples of the effectiveness of these suggestions towards increasing sales are included.

Infographic Content

5 Ways to Boost In-Store Sales

As a small business owner, consider these five ways to increase in-store sales.

1. Invest In Sales Training 

What - Hire the right people and develop the right skills
Why - Having a trained sales staff is one of the main reasons people choose an in-store purchase over an online one. Recent research suggests that around forty percent of customers are open to persuasion and may need help making a product decision.

4 Steps in the Art of Selling
Open / Ask for Needs / Demonstrate / Close
Eighty-six percent of the time sales staff didn't ask to close the deal. Give your sales team skills they need to succeed in today's complex sales environment.

Results
At one self-help apparel company, providing extra sales assistance during select hours increased fitting room use by thirty-seven percent, and increased conversion rates by up to two hundred percent.
A well-prepared, effective sales rep can result in almost four times more revenue for your business than a poor one.

2. Gift Cards and Loyalty Programs

What - Structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior.

• People will tend to buy full priced items with gift cards increasing your profit margins.
• Customers who purchase goods with gift cards are much less likely to return or exchange an item saving on transaction costs.
• Refunds can be issued through gift cards eliminating cash refunds.

Why - Gift cards will attract new customers to your store who will typically purchase more than the gift card amount and make a return visit.

Results
Over $100 billion is spent on gift cards annually with a staggering ninety-three percent of U.S. consumers purchasing or receiving a gift card annually.
At fifty-eight percent, over half of consumers still purchase gift cards at in-house retailers and mall kiosks - compared to forty-two percent of consumers who purchase gift cards online.
Seventy-two percent of customers will spend about twenty percent more at your store than the value of their gift card.
Twenty percent of customers never use the full value of the card - the remaining balance is revenue for your business.

3. Mobile Point of Sales Systems

What - Save as much as $10,000 on start up costs using a POS system compared to a traditional cash register, and increase you and your staffs' efficiency and effectiveness.
Why - Around twenty-six point two percent of businesses are considering switching to a mobile POS system.

Why Mobile POS?

• Get real-time inventory information
• Get customer stats on demand
• Automatically email receipts
• Streamline your sales processes
• Some POS systems integrate with your accounting software
• Enhance the customer experience, deliver unique offers to individual customers
• Less expensive than traditional POS systems and cash registers

Results
Nordstrom rolled out point-of-sale devices allowing customers to check out from anywhere in the store.
This efficiency reduced the potential amount of customers have to think about their purchases before they reach the register.
Total retail sales increased from $1.5 billion to $1.73 billion for the same period - a 15.3 percent increase!
The average number of items sold and the average selling price both increased after implementing the mobile point-of-sale devices

4. Online/Social

What - Offering a consistent and streamlined shopping/browsing/marketing experience both online and over social media can increase your in-store sales.
Why -

• 88 percent of consumers are researching items online and then buying them in a physical store.
• 78 percent of small businesses attract new customers through social media.
• More than 50 percent of in-store retail sales in the US will be influenced by the web by the year 2017.

 


Examples
Retail Stores / Online Stores / Local Search Ads / Mobile Stores / Mobile App Stores / Social Media

Results
Customers that arrive at a store after visiting the store's website on average spend thirty-seven percent more in-store than those that have not yet visited.
By spending as little as 6 hours per week, more than sixty-six percent of marketers see lead generation benefits though social media.

5. Location Based Mobile Marketing

What - Beacons are easy to use, affordable devices that SMBs can use in-store. They enable wireless communication with customer smart devices, which allows the SMB to communicate with them in proximity to or in-store.
Why - Beacons allow SMBs to broadcast offers to nearby consumers deliver relevant, targeted messages, and collect and track data to help improve marketing outreach effectiveness in the future.

Results
Hillshire farms promoted their American Craft Link Sausages and saw:

• A thirty-six percent increase in brand awareness and lift in overall sales.
• A five hundred percent increase over the CPG average for mobile ad engagement.

Sources: 
http://EzineArticles.com/6130978
http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/articles/levelup-consumers-increase-spending-with-ibeacon-technology/
http://independentretailer.com/2014/01/10/5-ecommerce-trends-for-small-businesses-in-2014/
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/9540.html
http://iviutech.com/downloads/eMarketer_Location-Based_Marketing-Driving_Sales_in_a_Whats_Around_Me_World.pdf
http://technoparkliving.com/2013/12/ibeacon-the-game-changer-in-instore-navigation/
http://9to5mac.com/2014/07/22/hillshire-increases-sales-w-ibeacon-20x-increase-in-purchase-intent-500x-increase-over-average-mobile-ads/
http://independentretailer.com/2014/01/10/5-ecommerce-trends-for-small-businesses-in-2014/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226874
http://partners.giftcards.com/statistics
http://www.giftcardgranny.com/statistics/
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/consumer_and_retail/rediscovering_the_art_of_selling
http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/proof-online-ads-increase-offline-sales.html
http://www.smartbugmedia.com/blog/26-stats-that-prove-content-marketing-increases-lead-generation-sales-and-roi
http://www.dmnews.com/study-cpg-website-visits-boost-in-store-sales/article/225375/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyclay/2012/04/06/nordstrom-sees-15-3-increase-in-retail-sales-following-introduction-of-mobile-pos-devices/

To view the original article visit: http://merchantwarehouse.com/five-ways-to-improve-in-store-sales

3 Tips for Implementing Loyalty Programs This Holiday Season [Guest Blog]

According to Inc., 65% of marketers have implemented a loyalty program, and for good reason. Current customers spend, on average, 67% more than customers who are buying from your business for the first time. And acquiring those new customers costs 5 to 10 times more than selling to a current customer.

It’s quite clear just how valuable your loyal returning customers are to your business now, and in the future. While direct mailing tactics or a seasonal email campaign can keep your current customers interested, a loyalty program is the most strategic way to keep them interested and spending long after the holidays are gone.

Determine Your Customers’ Needs

The first step in creating a loyalty program is determining what your customers need. These needs may vary depending on the time of year; for example, the holiday rush is a lot more stressful and time-consuming than it is to shop for March birthdays. Figure out what your customers need from your company to get them through the holidays in one piece.

·         Be sure you’ve researched and developed an in-depth customer profile for your company. Are your customers young adults, middle-aged moms, or retirees? Each group will have different needs from a rewards program, so know which one you’re working with.

·         Know how your customers use your product or service, and then determine how you can add value to what your customer is buying. Holiday retail rewards could include free gift wrapping, free shipping, or extended terms on product returns.

·         In “The Loyalty Effect,” Fred Reichheld claims that a 5% increase in customer retention can result in a 25 to 100% increase in profitability.

Offer Actual Value

In order to turn new customers into returning customers through a loyalty program, you need to offer them something with actual value. A points system that creates unattainable goals or a promotional game they have no chance of winning will frustrate your customers and can cause them to drop out of your program, which could then potentially drive them away.

·         If you offer a points-based program, keep it simple: allow customers to earn a free item for every $50 spent, or give them $10 off for every $100 spent. For a holiday promotion to bring in more sales, consider doubling your rewards until the end of the holidays.

·         If your products tend to be purchased less frequently, or your services aren’t conducive to a points-based system, you can implement a tiered system instead that increases rewards over time or with more purchases. Offer each tier special holiday rewards, move lower-tier customers up a level for the holidays, or give new program participants a special gift for joining during the season.

·         No matter what kind of loyalty program structure you choose, it needs to provide customers with attainable, valuable rewards that they can redeem quickly and frequently.

Partner Up

There is a limit to how many rewards and discounts you can offer your customers on your own. Collaborating with another company can enable you to offer additional rewards beyond the scope of your own business and capitalize on the holiday shopping season.

·         Coalition programs are strategic partnerships formed to increase customer retention and company both for all partners involved. The coalition can last for the length of the holiday season, or become a permanent partnership.

·         If you understand your customer’s needs, you can find other companies that serve your customer and would be valuable partners in a coalition program.

Customer loyalty programs increase customer happiness and retention by offering them rewards and extra services they can use during the holidays. Whether you offer a coalition program, a points system, or a tiered rewards structure, make sure that it adds value to your customer relationships during the holidays and all year long.

Megan Webb-Morgan is a web content writer for ResourceNation. She writes about small business, focusing on topics such as business sales. Follow Resource Nation on Facebook and Twitter, too!