Digital CPG Blog

The State Of Retailing Online 2011: Marketing, Social, and Mobile report conducted by Forrester Research Inc. is out and here are the key takeaways:

- 91 percent of retailers currently have a mobile strategy in place or in development (up from 74 percent a year ago).

- 72 percent of retailers say they will increase their spending on social networks this year over last year.

- Retailers report that 21 percent of all mobile traffic is coming from tablets.

- 48 percent of retailers report having a mobile-optimized Web site; 35 percent have deployed an iPhone app; and 15 percent offer an Android app and an iPad app.

- 62 percent of retailers said the returns on social marketing strategies are unclear, and nearly the same percentage said the primary ROI from social marketing is listening to and gaining a better understanding of customers.

This research begs the question: is your iPad app ready yet?

This new research comes from across the pond, but is still useful to those of us in the States:

What did users like about mobile commerce apps?

Customers were looking for a similar experience on apps to that on desktop e-commerce sites, meaning the same stock availability, product information, and the ability to make a purchase.

Mobile usability is crucial, and the best apps were praised for ease of navigation and good filtering functionality.

Not surprisingly, Amazon was the top rated retail app, and this is because it ticks most of these boxes. The product pages are detailed, and most items contain plenty of reviews, while it has an easy payment process. If you already have an account (and plenty of its customers do), then making a purchase is very quick.

People also like the barcode scanning features on some of these apps. Amazon’s has this, as does the recently released Debenhams app.

Drawbacks of retail apps

The Sainsbury’s app received the lowest score, and this is because people are not able to make a purchase, just view store details and offers.

As the report points out, people who have downloaded a retailer’s app are more likely to be engaged with the brand, and not providing a route to purchase is a missed opportunity.

Other criticisms included limited stock, in the case of the House of Fraser Gift app, and a lack of product photos and information on the Interflora app.

It’s never a good idea to take half of your website and put it in a mobile app or to try to fully duplicate your website or store into a mobile app. Instead, you’ll need to design it specifically for the  mobile experience.

Can your strategy move as fast as technology? Many CPG brands aren’t even online yet, but commerce has moved from online to networks to devices – specifically, tablets.

Some people are calling it t-commerce, and the iPad is now one of the hottest accessories for moms, reports Patti Ziegler.

“However, rather than creating new incremental sales, says Forrester, t-commerce will largely grow by capturing and cannibalizing traditional PC-based retail traffic.”

“And yet, most retailers have a suboptimal multichannel experience that leaves considerable room for improvement. E-commerce is growing at a double-digit pace and many retailers are ramping-up their presences on mobile and online platforms to offset a simultaneous decline of physical store sales. The ‘multi-channel monster’ will continue to grow in 2011, says Forrester, creating opportunities for retailers that create shopper experiences that seamlessly extend across smartphones, laptops, tablets, in-store kiosks and, yes, the iPad.”

Are you keeping up with how the many different ways consumers get information and shop online?