Struggling to Understand the Mobile Retail Environment

June 16, 2016

By Ernest Worthman

Executive Editor
AGL Small Cell Magazine

June 21, 2016 — Big data was supposed to be the panacea for retailers to be able to target shoppers in retail environments by being able to “read” the shoppers wireless mind. Unfortunately, that hasn’t turned out quite as expected yet.

The problem seems to be the fickle nature of the shopper. Just dropping a coupon for a great pair of shoes on the smartphone as they walk by the store isn’t enough. It seems that to entice a mobile shopper to follow the dangling carrot has some metrics outside of big data.

For example, a big turnoff is lines. In a survey from DMI, 82 percent of millennial parents would rather starve than wait in line for fast food with their children at a mall. So a short line at Taco Bell wins over a free burger at Chick-fil-A. As well, such shoppers have about a 10-minute tolerance for checkout lines. And, 20 percent off those fashionable sneakers only works if the lines are reasonable.

What wasn’t expected was that the consumer wanted special app features from the retailer. Specifically, DMI’s survey found that if they could get the app features that they want from a retailer, 97 percent would use the app, 82 percent would visit the store more often and 85 percent say they would spend more money. They also wanted the ability to check an item’s price via their mobile device and use in-store promotions. And, of course, a top feature is the ability to check themselves out via mobile so all they had to do was visit the store to pick up the merchandise.

So, as it turns out, just customizing the shopping experience by crunching big data and being personal and targeted isn’t enough. Time is a valuable asset to these millennials and … related to that takes precedence over personalization.