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Mobile shopping results in fewer page views

| February 3, 2016

A recent report has shown that retailers are struggling to boost site use among smartphone based shoppers.

Though it may seem quite easy to applaud the growth of mobile shopping and to feel that it is simple to hop on board and offer people a great m-commerce experience, provided that the site is smartphone-friendly, retailers are discovering that customer habits make things more challenging than anticipated.

Among the main problems is that shoppers are less likely to browse around when they use mobile devices.

A recent study, conducted by SimilarWeb, found that people using mobile shopping are viewing a smaller number of pages per site visit. Last year, the average online shopper using a desktop or a laptop viewed an average of 8.3 pages per site visit. That said, the average shopper using m-commerce channels such as smartphones and tablets saw only 5.8 pages. When it comes to trying to encourage people to add more to their carts, that represents a considerable reduction in opportunity for retailers.

The research also found that mobile shopping cuts down on the length of time of the visit, as well.

Mobile Shopping - TabletSimilarWeb determined that when shopping over desktop or laptop, people would browse around for an average of 6 minutes and 50 seconds on a retail site in 2015. However, when using mobile devices, that length of time fell considerably, plummeting to only 4 minutes and 29 seconds.

According to the firm’s digital insights manager, Pavel Tuchinsky, “Engagement and time on site has not been maintained in the transition toward mobile shopping.” That said, Tuchinsky also felt that there was a solution to this challenge. He explained that “Retailers must continue to embrace the rapid change towards mobile, including better checkout flows, and integration between desktop and mobile sites.”

It is no mystery that mobile shopping is becoming exceptionally important to shoppers. In the United States, it’s estimated that about 55.8 percent of all retail site visits came from users of smartphones and tablets in 2015. It will be up to retailers to try to keep on top of these trends and to better understand what their customers want if they intend to stay ahead in online sales.

Geolocation beacons, QR codes and NFC tags upgrade Bologna Airport

| February 2, 2016

These types of mobile technology are all being implemented to help to add value to the experience for travelers.

The Balogna Airport has revealed that it will be using a range of different forms of mobile technology, including geolocation beacons, near field communication (NFC) tags, and even QR codes to help to enhance the experience of travelers who make their way through this location.

There are about 7 million passengers that make their way through the airport every year.

By using geolocation beacons with Bluetooth low-energy technology, and by combining that with NFC tags and quick response codes, the Balogna Airport is hoping to be able to reach as many travelers as possible, regardless of the model or make of their mobile phones. Using these various types of tech, it will become possible for the airport to send pro-active notifications to travelers such as promotions and alerts. These will be sent directly to the smartphones so travelers will be able to receive them when they are most relevant to their present locations.

For travelers to receive these geolocation technology based benefits, they must use the free BLQ Balogna app.

Airport - GeolocationThe purpose of the location based technology, the NFC tags and the QR codes is to make it possible for passengers to quickly and easily obtain the app and take advantage of everything the airport has to offer, no matter where they happen to be. The airport worked with Connecthings, a mobile tech company, in order to launch this project. The notifications sent to the app will be managed by airport staff who have access to a dedicated content management platform.

The airport’s IT & innovations manager, Silvia Lombardi, said that “Connecthings’ innovative solution will allow us to create new ways of interactions between our BLQ Bologna application and the dozens of installed, connected beacons within the airport – hence improving our customers’ dedicated information services.”

She added that these digital services give the airport the chance to engage with all visitors and travelers who find themselves there. It provides them with facilitated airport orientation so they will be able to use their favorite devices – which will automatically know where they are via geolocation – to find exactly what they need and learn about offers, opportunities and solutions of which they might not otherwise have been aware.