Mobile prompts rethink of in-store retail marketing strategies

In its inaugural 'Reality of Retail' report, InReality reveals the new reality retailers face in light mobile use in-store. In-store purchases continue to account for the vast majority of retail sales in the U.S. (94%), but store visitors are increasingly armed with, and use, mobile devices.

The report reveals that not all research is being done online. More than half (53%) of shoppers surveyed said they preferred to research products on mobile in-store. That figure rises to 57% among shoppers aged 18-24.

Furthermore, while 75% of shoppers are using mobile in-store, that is not distracting them from making purchases. A quarter said that they made in-store purchases via mobile.

However, while traditional in-store marketing remains important, retailers must rethink some tactics, says InReality. While more than half (56%) of shoppers said advertising remains important to their purchase decisions in-store, just 12% believe in-store sales assistants are "an important touchpoint in a purchase decision". And, while 46% of shoppers consider loyalty programs to be important in their decision-making, 71% of loyalty program users still use their mobile in-store for price comparison purposes.

"We know the rapidly accelerating growth and adoption of technology is disrupting retail as shoppers are researching and buying online; and yet we also know that the overwhelming majority of retail dollars spent by shoppers is still within brick-and-mortar," said Gary Lee, president and chief executive officer of InReality. "Our research focuses on uncovering the 'tug of war' brewing inside stores as shoppers choose the best of online and in-store marketing. Traditional in-store marketing is still critically important to shoppers, but technology, especially mobile, is having an impact on the store--changing the shopper's path to purchase and calling for brands and retailers to start rethinking in-store strategies."

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Tags: instore, loyalty shopping trends, mobile, retail, trends