10 reasons why retailers should focus on mobile

Mobile commerce is predicted to grow by £98.7bn by 2015

Almost all youths and adults are expected to use smartphones within three years

Consumers increasingly expect to be able to purchase goods online using their mobile phones, according to research from New Toy, a London-based mobile interactive agency.

The firm said that smartphones are set to achieve almost complete market penetration within three years and mobile browsers are becoming the standard platform for accessing the web.

However, the agency says that only a small proportion of retailers have recognised the opportunities presented by mobile commerce to date, but others should start following suit shortly.

It gives 10 reasons why retailers should focus on the mobile channel:

  1. Consumer enthusiasm and engagement with mobile commerce is predicted to grow to £98.7bn by 2015.
  2. Mobile is real time, which means the relationship with consumers is direct.
  3. In-store interaction with mobile informs decision making. Some 51 per cent of consumers claim they have used their mobile phones to purchase or gain further information while in-store.
  4. Consumers are keen to communicate with businesses through their mobile device. Some 17.9 per cent of men aged 13-44 have attempted to browse an online retailer using their mobile handset.
  5. Effective deployment to mobile delivers a strong return on investment. For example, the online grocery delivery firm Ocado has generated £15m of sales since February via its iPhone app, which amounts to 4.4 per cent of all orders.
  6. Some 25 per cent of consumers admitted that if they were unable to view their their preferred retailer's web site via their mobile, they would look for a competitor and never try to access that site again.
  7. Retailers can easily tag a mobile platform onto their existing e-commerce provider platform.
  8. Mobile enables an ongoing conversation with customers through SMS messaging and applications, so it can deliver valuable marketing information.
  9. A focus on design and usability for mobile devices will enhance a retailer’s brand image.
  10. Your web site can and should be optimised for mobile devices.