Stay Mobile

It’s no secret that shoppers are scrolling—laptops, iPads and cell phones are so much a part of our lifestyle that they can feel like extensions of our body. But people aren’t just looking to mobile devices for Facebook status updates on their former classmates. According to an analysis published in 2015 by Criteo, a digital performance advertising company, mobile sales make up 34 percent of e-commerce transactions worldwide (and those numbers were forecasted to keep climbing.)

The trend holds just as true for childrenswear. Giggle CEO Beth Guastella and PishPosh Baby Director of Marketing and Social Media Esti Barker say that they see continuing growth in mobile traffic to their e-commerce sites. “People are increasingly using mobile devices not just to view/click through email, but to complete a transaction as well,” says Guastella. Alex Frias, co-founder and president of brand experience agency Track Marketing Group notes that mobile commerce now accounts for nearly one-third of all U.S. e-commerce sales. “Growth in smartphone and social media usage is setting the basis for all types of retail marketing trends,” he explains. And, as consumers become more comfortable making purchases via mobile, it is becoming increasingly important for retailers to adapt.

Experts agree that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to mobile sales, since size, budget, audience and merchandise all must be taken into account. But retailers of all stripes should focus on creating experiences that are relevant, personalized, and  in-step with what’s trending now. Marissa Aydlett, VP of marketing at Appboy, a mobile marketing company, points out that a digital customer should be treated with the same care as an in-store shopper, and notes that the mobile experience can be a multi-step process. For example, a customer could discover a brand or retailer through a Facebook ad, download the relevant mobile application, begin selecting items, and days later get a geo-targeted push-notification reminding them to complete the purchase. In other words, mastering the world of mobile technology is a journey—here’s what to keep in mind while on board:

MASTER SOCIAL MEDIA

Mobile technology can’t be separated from social media—channels like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Pinterest are crucial vehicles for e-commerce both before and after a purchase. Experts say that customers are increasingly using social media for pre-purchase investigation. Through hashtags and brand/retailer tags, people are finding items to put on their wishlist. “It gives [customers] a new angle on doing research,” notes Barker. Plus, social media gives the customer an emotional connection to the product. (Think: new and expectant parents looking for a sense of community.)

Not to mention, the word-of-mouth nature of social media means the sales potential can be exponential. After a purchase, if one mom showcases her cool new product on Facebook, her friends are just a click away from becoming customers, too. The best ways to capitalize? Frias suggests the following: First, add social sharing buttons to your website. (Those buttons you see on web pages that allow users to share the current page on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) Also, incorporate social rewards by offering perks and freebies to customers who follow you on social media or tell their friends about you. Lastly, promote purchase sharing by prompting your customers to share on social media immediately after a successful purchase.

And Frias adds, it’s not just the before-and-after of a purchase where social media comes into play. Increasingly, it’s becoming relevant to the actual shopping process. “One of the biggest trends will be how brands will blur the lines between apps, e-commerce and social media,” he says. “From Instagram’s ‘Shop Now’ to Pinterest’s ‘Buyable Pins,’ today’s hottest platforms are looking for ways to blur the lines between web, social, app and e-commerce.” This means, as social media booms, retailers need to follow suit: make social media shop-able. (Frias says you can do this using existing plug-ins, depending on your e-commerce platform.)

EASY DOES IT

While some mobile technology leaders insist that branded shopping apps are necessary for all retailers both big and small (MobiCart Co-Founder Wang Zhikai describes them as “becoming a necessity,” noting that a shopping app means your customer is literally carrying your store around everywhere they go.), many argue that the most cost-effective approach is simply to optimize your website for mobile. “Having a mobile-friendly website isn’t just good practice—it’s a
prerequisite,” states Frias, adding that the website should be clean and easy to navigate. Sites should be personalized, and as a general rule of thumb, contain less information than what you would find on a desktop. “On a [traditional] website more is better, and on a mobile device website less is better,” explains Net Future Institute CEO and bestselling author Chuck Martin. “People using mobile phones are looking for something specific on the web; at home people are doing an overall search.” Regardless, short bursts of information are key, he continues.

For retailers on a smaller budget, Frias notes that Google offers a free test that diagnoses how mobile-friendly a website is, and whether it is optimized for mobile. And if your site is hosted on WordPress, you have the capability to automatically readjust for mobile devices, adds Martin. But ideally retailers should re-design their website using a mobile-first strategy, so that the ease of a customer’s browsing experience will be similar to that of a desktop no matter what device is in their hands. And don’t forget: Your website will vary in look and function on an iPad versus, say, a laptop, so it is important to keep all forms of mobile tech in mind. Overall, Aydlett says: “Creating a mobile platform can vastly vary in terms of cost—this can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you’d like it to be.”

However, the pros all agree on one crucial piece of advice: Focus on the ease of the checkout process. Mike Burk, director of product management at e-commerce platform Bigcommerce, recommends enabling users to checkout without having to create an account and speeding-up payments by offering options like PayPal One Touch. “There’s often plenty of low-hanging fruit,” he explains. “Allowing users to checkout without creating an account avoids the cumbersome process of filling out a registration form on a mobile device.” In sum, whether retailers choose to launch their own app or to optimize their website for mobile (or both), the focus should be on making the mobile experience as easy and quick as possible for the customer—simplicity is key.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Experts know that shoppers are researching purchases on their phones before pulling the trigger to buy. But they’re also looking up products in your brick-and-mortar store, too. From last-minute research to finding deals in-store (often scanning a UPC or QR code), customers are looking for the best price and option.

For smaller retailers who are unable to match prices with big box behemoths, this is often viewed as a negative development, but experts recommend taking advantage of the trend instead. Martin suggests retailers scan their own UPC codes to see what their customers are finding. Whether that is to match price points or to figure out how to react to what is being said in reviews, it makes sense for retailers to be aware of the information their customers are gathering. Armed with knowledge, a trained, friendly sales staff can help address questions and concerns—often clinching a sale.

Or, follow the example of Giggle, and come up with smart ways to encourage customers to use their cell phone in-store. The company’s recently launched app allows shoppers to use their phones to scan items and create a registry in-store. Guastella says the results have been hugely lucrative—The app was voted by Vogue.com as one of 2015’s best.

TAKE ADVENTAGE OF TECH

For retailers ready to invest major cash in their mobile efforts, an array of new firms offer intelligent tech capabilities that analyze your customers’ mobile habits to create custom, targeted content. With that information you can “send the right message, at the right time, to the right person,” says Aydlett. Her company’s Intelligent Delivery system, for example, uses a unique algorithm to utilize a customer’s data from prior interactions. This, in turn, enables companies to send push notifications and messages at just the right moment, when users appear to be most receptive. Those push-notifications, she adds, are a great way to boost sales.

Shopping apps like Shopkick allow retailers to target their customers the second they step in the door, by offering rewards for walking in, discovering  products and making a purchase. Margot Langsdorf, VP of Client Services at Shopkick adds that the app is successful because, “Customers are rewarded for the shopping they are already doing with our currency—‘kicks,’ which they can redeem for gift cards.”

The first step in taking advantage of smart technology, Martin cautions, is to get approval from your customer for any continuing communication. Then, ask permission to send geo-targeted text messages to them. One of the hottest things in retail right now, Martin adds, are beacons (small radio transmitters interacting with apps that allow retailers to send  messages to a customer’s phone, and even capture information about where the customer traveled in-store).

CHOOSE ALL CHANNELS

For all of the benefits that mobile technology affords, digital can never truly match a physical experience in certain ways (think: touching, trying on, feeling, truly seeing, and even smelling a product). Martin points to data that suggests that over 90 percent of people still prefer to make purchases in a physical store. Thus, instead of seeing mobile as competing with brick-and-mortar, experts agree that these different channels should be viewed as complementary. Technology has afforded retailers the gift of being able to know more about their customer—whether that’s through an Instagram follow or a high-tech algorithm—and they should take advantage. As Langsdorf says, “The biggest mistake we see retailers make is to view mobile as an or game versus an and game” she says.

And, no matter if a customer makes a purchase in-person or online, the basic tenets of good retail will always remain relevant. “People want to be inspired, and have an easy and enjoyable shopping experience,” says Georgia McKee, e-commerce coordinator at AlexandAlexa. “Ensuring they have a seamless and enjoyable experience to ensure they come back again, is always the top priority of all retailers.” And while cost may certainly be a big factor for some, it is important that all retailers turn an eye toward mobile technology. “[It’s not a matter of] having a choice anymore,” says childrenswear consultant Christine McCarthy, owner of CMSM, LLC. As she puts it? “Just get in the game.”