UK Retailers now need to be ready to face a new breed of consumers who are starting to appear in growing numbers, according to new research into the way people use broadband-enabled mobile devices to access the web while they are out and about.
The research was carried out among early adopters of the new BT Smartphones. The device’s high speed wireless broadband capability supports a growing trend for shoppers to compare prices and look up product reviews and recommendations by other consumers via the web when they are on the move. Highlights from the research showed that:
• Forty five per cent have browsed for goods or services;
• One in three have price checked or searched for a review of a product/service;
• One in three have found that their devices have helped them to make well-informed buying decisions;
• One in five have made an actual purchase online in the past three months.
This certainly shows that the writing is on the wall for the traditional retail model. While shoppers may still like to look and touch physical goods before they decide to buy them, once they've settled on an item, increasing numbers are now going online in order to get the cheapest deal.
BT Futurologist Ian Neild said “Broadband on the move is bringing about a change in consumer behaviour; they can now do the things they would normally do at home when they are out and about. The ease with which they can go online to sites like Pricerunner or TripAdvisor to inform their buying decisions puts added pressure on high-street retailers to offer the best prices and the product ranges that people want.”
He added, “The days of the internet being something for the home are over. For a growing number of savvy shoppers, the online and in-store worlds have now merged. Retailers should take advantage of the fact that customers may now have access to the Internet whilst in-store and, for example, use their wifi connections to deliver expert advice via a store intranet channel.”
Kenneth Bundy, a BT ToGo customer who took part in the study said, “It's like having a consumer panel in your pocket. When I'm on the high street I can now find out what other shoppers think before making a purchase. Price checking on larger items also makes me feel I'm more likely to pay a fair price.”
numero has recognised the growing trend for ‘shopping on the move’ for some time and has been actively supporting this type of behaviour for several years. Even before the availability of Smartphones, our SmartAgent SMS solution has been providing on-the-move price comparison and product reservation solutions in a manner that is highly user friendly and immediate, as PC World customers can testify. The benefit of using SmartAgent for retailers has been that it allows multiple contact channels to be opened up without necessarily ramping up the agent population to match this growth.
Key to the success of this has been the intelligence behind SmartAgent that allows it, in many cases, to interact with consumers in a highly relevant and personal manner with little or no customer service agent intervention. Hence, customers and indeed, potential customers receive a highly positive experience when they contact retailers in this way and are more likely to use these non-voice contact channels in the future. This again supports the Retailers goal of increasing levels of service without driving up the cost of achieving this.
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