As the consumer’s world is moving fast toward the latest digital shopping trends, consumers have started to realize that not all that shines is gold. In other words, some issues have arisen regarding the new technology. Let’s talk mobile phones. We are seeing mobile devices as an extension to our pc’s, which in some cases have even been replaced by tablets. The latest trends see mobile phones becoming increasingly bigger, more advanced and powerful. People are using them more and more to browse the internet and get instant information, no matter where they are. But when it comes to cyber shopping, some problems have arisen when people purchase via their phones. According to a recent article from CNET, many people are interested in purchasing items on their mobile devices, but the experience of shopping on the phone is, at best, unpleasant. Making purchases on mobile involves many difficulties. To find the right product to buy, people have to scroll through tiny product images; then, once it’s time to buy, they are required to enter a high amount of information –name, address, card number, passwords – on a tiny keyboard. There are too many moments in the buying process that risk frustrating customers - and losing retailers a sale. CNET suggest that although we use smartphones to compare prices and research products, they are not very good devices to make purchases. And as a matter of fact, most online purchases still take place on desktop computers which have conveniently large screens and keyboards.
Are there any technical solutions?
We at LS Retail are well aware of the missed sales opportunities that derive from the difficulties outlined above. Retailers see more and more of their online traffic coming from smartphones, but this traffic does not translate into purchases. Considering how much time people spend on their phones browsing products, this seems like a big missed opportunity for retailers. Even worse, the complications of mobile shopping risk frustrating the customers, putting them off from buying from specific retailers altogether. When developing our Omni solutions we are very aware of these pain points and problems. In LS Omni, even if all information about the products comes from the back office and the solution can be used on all different platforms – be they computers, tablets, or mobile phones -, we are utilizing the core ability of different mobile platforms, whether it is Android, iOS or Windows. That means that the best fit for each device is used and all instructions are as clean and visible as possible.Buy on the phone, pick up in store
Furthermore, we have added an extended service of Click & Collect whereby consumers can select their items and purchase them, but instead of finishing the payment on their device, they can send the order to a selected store and pay for the purchase when they pick up the items. With this method, customers can avoid the insecurity and complexity of buying on a small device. At the same time, Click & Collect also allows both the customer and the retailer to add some interesting extra items to their purchase when products are being picked up in store. Although the numbers of people now buying and paying on mobile phones are staggering, we are seeing an increase in omni-channel ways of buying, and retailers are increasing picking up this service to give their customers more varied and more convenient shopping options.
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