Mobile Marketing a Must – Why You Can’t Ignore this Growing Trend
The idea of mobile marketing is not new – in fact, it is safe to say that it has definitely arrived and is thriving. Today’s consumer is smarter, more tech savvy, and better connected than ever, and as a result retailers can no longer ignore the fact that people do rely heavily on smartphones and tablets – even when it comes to shopping.
Don’t just take our word for it. According to a study done by the Canadian government, 79% of Canadian households have internet access, and 74% of these use the internet to find products and services online. But this is just at home – what about mobile? A recent IBM study took an in depth look at mobile marketing and found that, as of August 2012, mobile shopping accounted for almost 20% of all online sales. This is up 300% from the same time last year.
And people respond well to mobile. The same IBM study found that 43% of Canadians are in favour of receiving coupons on their phone, while 69% research products and 1 in 5 conduct shopping online from a mobile device.
In the CPG industry, these numbers may seem a bit high, and perhaps they are, especially since these studies focused on several different retail industries as a whole. Even today, most people conduct their CPG shopping in-store, meaning that online sales for CPG are typically much smaller in number – but product research or price matching is still a priority for smartphone users. Ignoring the trend outright and assuming that just because most CPG purchasing is done in-store is a bad idea all around.
Still not jumping on the mobile bandwagon? If mobile isn’t in your future, are you going to get stuck at the back of the pack? It probably isn’t the best marketing strategy, but if you are still not convinced that mobile marketing makes a difference, what can you do to try and combat the influence of it? The best way is to ensure that customers receive the same service levels in-store that they receive online. Shopping online usually means no line-ups, the ability to view and purchase items immediately or see when they are not in stock. This means that you have to work hard to provide the same service: well stocked shelves, enough floor coverage to prevent a back-up at the cash register and enough people support to ensure things are well organized and tidy on the sales floor.
As we said, mobile marketing is here for the long haul, and the impacts will continue to either positively or negatively impact your bottom line depending on how to adapt to technological changes. But whatever you do, don’t ignore this trend completely – just because you put it out of your mind doesn’t mean that it is going to disappear.
Need some help dealing with the mobile marketing movement? Contact Marketsupport today at 1-877-421-5081.
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