The growth of mobile and retail and e commerce

• About 89% of retailers plan to put mobile solutions in the hands of their store associates over the next three years, according to new research from Boston Retail Partners.
• The BP Special Report – The Mobile World of Retail states that retailers are expanding the use of mobile technology by giving associates mobile devices and apps with specific aims to use them for customer identification, customer engagement, associate training and task management, point of sale (POS) and payments.
• Regarding those last two, the report also found that about 84% of retailers will use mobile point-of-sale systems in their stores by 2020, and that acceptance of mobile payments by retailer is increasing rapidly with fewer retailers taking a wait and see approach.

Another recent survey from Tulip Retail showed that many customers believed they were more knowledgeable than many store associates. Mobile devices and apps that connect to inventory details — including inventory outside the walls of the store itself — and help store associates more efficiently communicate with co-workers could be the difference maker

Will mobile payment catch on?

Despite advances in mobile payment technology, young Americans don’t seem too eager to use their phones as cash. As many as 35% of millennials don’t use mobile payment apps at all, according to a new survey. And most millennials who do take advantage of the apps don’t use them in stores, but for peer-to-peer transactions via Venmo – suggesting that mobile wallet integration may not be the most strategic digital investment for retailers.

I know that Brenda and I do use mobile for surfing and searches and some banking but we have yet to use it. I believe we will eventually use apps and such for buying and it just appears that slowly the trend is growing.  If you could find out before you got in the car and went to shop if the inventory was in stock this would be great and if you could buy it or hold it at the store that would be great too.

More on mobile to come soon.

Joe Rossini