Mobile commerce sales make strong progress at Argos
Argos, a leading retailer in the United Kingdom, has been reporting impressive results from the mobile commerce sector. The retailer has been working to become more engaging with mobile consumers in recent years, hoping to offer better services to those tethered to mobile devices. This has become quite common throughout the retail industry. Many companies are eager to engage consumers in new ways, embracing mobile commerce and new marketing initiatives in order to adapt to changes in technology and the shopping habits of consumers.
Sales rise 16% as Argos focuses on the mobile space
Argos has seen its mobile sales more than double during the first half of its fiscal year, rising by 16%. Approximately 43% of the entirety of the retailer’s sales were made online. While the majority of sales were made from traditional computers, sales made through tablets and smartphones grew by 124%. The retailer’s multichannel sales now account for nearly $1 billion, with mobile commerce making up a sizeable portion of that total.
Digital transition makes Argos more relevant with consumers
The retailer is currently undergoing something of a digital transformation. Argos has taken note of the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets among shoppers and has been working to grow more accommodating to the needs of these consumers. In the future, many people are likely to shop from their mobile devices rather than visit physical stores. While this has caused some concern among retailers, companies like Argos are taking a proactive approach to the issue, establishing strong online presences in order to remain relevant with consumers.
Some retailers find mobile commerce to be a challenging problem
Mobile commerce has proven to be beneficial to Argos, but other retailers have not fared as well in their mobile endeavors. One of the greatest challenges currently facing retailers has to do with their websites. Most retail sites are not optimized to be used from a mobile device. This leaves many consumers with a poor experience, making it unlikely for these consumers to participate in any mobile commerce ventures coming from these retailers in the future.
Mobile commerce may be more about technology for retailers
Mobile technology has begun to change the way consumers participate in retail and commerce as well as how they interact with one another and the world around them. As such, businesses have been forced to adapt to the changing interests of consumers and embrace mobile engagement strategies and focus more heavily on mobile commerce. Gartner analysts suggest that a focus on mobile commerce is beneficial for retailers, but companies should prioritize their use of mobile technology over commerce initiatives in order to optimize revenue generation.
Embracing technology could help boost revenue
Many technology firms around the world have taken a strong interest in mobile commerce. These firms are offering mobile commerce services to retailers and marketing these services as ways to boost revenue by engaging mobile consumers. Gartner analysts suggest that these services may have little impact on revenue if retailers themselves do not become more accommodating to mobile technology. Optimizing websites so they can be easily viewed on mobile devices and providing consumers with ways to find information with their smartphones and tablets while in physical stores is considered more important than actually having a mobile commerce platform.
Retailers have high hopes for mobile commerce
A recent Gartner survey suggests that the world’s leading retailers have high hopes for the mobile space as well as e-commerce. The survey shows that retailers expect the majority of their sales to continue coming from physical stores, but 14.6% will come from e-commerce and 6.5% will come from mobile commerce by 2017. If retailers do not focus more on accommodating mobile technology, however, they may miss out on potential revenue from consumers eager to spend money through their mobile devices.
Mobile sector continues to evolve
Return on investment can be a tricky subject in the world of mobile commerce. There are a wide range of platforms available to consumers, but none of these have yet established themselves as a leader. Moreover, mobile commerce itself is continuing to evolve. The sector is moving away from NFC technology, which has formed its backbone for the past few years. As mobile commerce changes, ways to generate revenue through this sector are becoming somewhat vague.
