Denny |
February 29, 2016
Retailers are falling behind when it comes to engaging mobile consumers
Australian retailers are struggling to embrace mobile commerce. Episerver has released a new report that scores 20 of Australia’s major retailers in terms of their mobile offerings. These retailers have become heavily involved in the mobile space, providing consumers with the ability to shop online with their mobile devices. Consumers can also use their devices in physical stores to research and purchase products that they are interested in. While retailers have become involved in the mobile space, they are finding it difficult to effectively engage consumers in meaningful ways.
Consumers enjoy the mobile experience provided by top retailers
According to the report, The Iconic, one of Australia’s largest retailers, has the best mobile experience. Approximately 66% of consumers said that they enjoyed their shopping experience through the retailer’s mobile platform. Kogan, another retailer, came in second in terms of customer satisfaction, with 64% noting that they enjoy the retailer’s mobile efforts. While Kogan is second overall, the majority of consumers appreciate the company’s mobile website. Approximately 73% of consumers say that Kogan has the best mobile website of all retailers in the mobile field.
Australian retailers are falling behind those in other countries
While some of Australia’s top retailers have found some success in the mobile space, these companies are lagging behind those in other countries. The report shows that Australian retailers are performing 34% worse than retailers in other countries, as they are finding more success in the mobile commerce space. The mobile space has proven to be a competitive market, with consumers unwilling to use platforms that they do not enjoy.
Mobile consumers are still worried about the security of mobile payments
Mobile commerce has become a very powerful force in the retail space. In Australia, banks have been supporting mobile payments aggressively, finding some success among consumers that rely heavily on their smartphones and tablets. Consumers are somewhat wary of mobile payment platforms, however, due to security concerns. This is something that retailers have had to overcome over the past few years.
In recent EPiServer research, the department store retailer managed to score 75 percent.
John Lewis, a large British department store, has scored extremely well in the latest EPiServer Mobile Commerce 2014 report, when it comes to the smartphone and tablet based shopping experience.
The company was only just slightly ahead of some of its biggest competition, such as Amazon UK and Argos.
The EPiServer report provided the results of an annual study that took the leading 20 retailers in the United Kingdom into consideration. This report has now reached its third year and has shown that while some retailers are excelling in mobile commerce, others are facing a considerable struggle in providing the type of seamless, friction free m-shopping experience that is now expected by consumers.
Mobile commerce is becoming considerably more sophisticated and is evolving quickly.
The average score that was recorded by the research was 47 percent effectiveness for m-commerce. Comparatively, last year the average score had been 55 percent. This suggests that as the technology and expectations become more complex, retailers are having a hard time being able to keep up.
The study took into account Android and iOS dedicated apps for both smartphones and tablets, as well as mobile sites. It took a number of different factors into consideration, including location based and geolocation tools, multi-channel experiences (such as the “click and collect” option that allows a consumer to make a purchase over a smartphone and then simply pick it up in the store), in addition to direct contact with customer service options, social sharing features, and personalized content.
At the very top of this mobile commerce experience list, was John Lewis, which managed to score 75 percent, just squeaking ahead of its competition. It was granted this score after it had achieved a consistently solid mobile strategy throughout its website, Android and iOS app experiences. The official statement from EPiServer said that “Apps deliver smooth experiences that reflect the main site and John Lewis branding with great user experience features, for example ‘double tap to zoom’ on product images, an in-store crossover feature in the form of a barcode scanner and a location-enabled store finder.”
