Mobile purchasing maintains upwards trajectory: BRP

As consumers’ usage of mobile continues to grow and the number of shoppers who are comfortable purchasing via smartphones also rises, luxury retailers and brands need to keep their mobile offerings at the forefront.

According to a study from Boston Retail Partners, 41 percent of consumers are likely to increase their purchasing on mobile devices over the next 24 months, and 85 percent have a least bought one item via smartphone. Currently, 33 percent of those surveyed claim to frequently purchase on mobile devices.

“With consumers’ pervasive use of mobile phones for everything from researching to buying products, retailers need to continue to offer more mobile applications and services,” said Marty Whitmore, senior vice president and practice lead at Boston Retail Partners. “Some consumers even choose one store over another based on what mobile features a store offers.

“According to BRP’s consumer survey, 67 percent of consumers indicate that mobile coupons and promotions are an important factor in determining at which store they shop,” he said.

In-store and online
BRP’s "Special Report: In-Store Mobility" shows that the increase of mobile influencers consumers’ habits far beyond checkout. Sixty-three percent of consumers are also using mobile devices for product research, pricing and availability while in a physical store location.

Mobile is becoming increasingly pervasive. Image credit: Estee Lauder

It has been obvious for some time that mobile usage in regards to retail has been a significant disrupter, but research shows this will only continue.

A large portion of retailers are aware that this is an important strategy to adhere to, with 49 percent saying mobile experiences top their customer engagement priorities. However, the remaining 51 percent could be significantly missing out.

Mobile has even been integrated into in-store operations, beyond just consumer-facing outlets. Forty percent of consumers claimed they are likely to shop at a store with a mobile point-of-sale system.

The mobile POS allows for more freedom for salespeople, meaning more convenience for customers. Currently, 66 percent of retailers offer mobile POS.

Discounts and coupons are also important on mobile devices, with 67 percent of shoppers influenced by mobile coupons and promotions in regards to where they shop.

More online shoppers are turning to smartphones rather than desktops or tablets. Image credit: Boucheron

Fifty-seven percent of retailers provide in-store mobile promotions and coupons to shoppers on location.

Additional insight
As paid social investment continues to grow up to 40 percent year-over-year, luxury audiences are more likely to be reached on LinkedIn as the networking platform beefs up its advertising capabilities.

LinkedIn is proving to foster a highly engaged audience for the B2B and luxury crowd, causing it to see the most significant spend increase of paid social platforms. In terms of paid search, Google continues to dominate but Bing has seen an increase in market share, according to a report from iProspect (see story).

Mobile shopping transactions are surging as consumers continue to reach for their smartphones instead of desktops when browsing online.

Retailers who actively promote their mobile applications especially continue to see positive growth as more users embrace in-app shopping, according to a report from Criteo. Bricks-and-motar retailers, however, still lag behind their online-only competitors and need to better integrate online and offline efforts (see story).

“One of the most surprising findings is how much more active younger consumers are on their mobile phones and how important mobile features are in selecting where they shop,” BRP's Mr. Whitmore said. “Ninety-one percent of Gen Z and millennials conduct product and pricing research on their phones while they are in the store, which is significantly higher than the 47 percent of Gen X and older use their phones for research in the store.

“Gen Z and millennials are also two to three times more likely to purchase products on their mobile device than Gen X and older generations,” he said.