Majority of shoppers using retailer mobile apps from comfort of home
RESTON, Va. — Much of the mobile app experience happens in the comfortable, unrushed environment of the home, with 85% of shoppers preferring to shop there via mobile, according to new research called "Mobile Spend in 2015" from Contact Solutions released Monday.
Customer care is key to growing adoption and making mobile apps sticky, however. Without good care consumers grow frustrated and many will even abandon a retailer entirely, not just the retailer’s app. When shoppers need help, they expect to get it immediately and effortlessly. If forced to stop what they’re doing and leave the app to get help, 1-out-of-4 shoppers will be likely to not make a purchase with the brand at all.
“Our latest research found that the next generation of mobile apps will need convenient in–app customer care not only to stave off cart abandonment, but to build brand loyalty as well,” stated John Hibel, director marketing at Contact Solutions. “Even though retailers have started investing in mobile apps, shoppers are often left wanting more. When they are forced to switch channels to get the assistance they need, this fractures the brand experience and makes consumers far more likely to abandon shopping carts — and what’s more, they’ll often abandon the brand entirely. Losing shoppers due to a poor mobile experience is a real risk for retailers in 2015.”
Mobile shopping is growing at a rapid pace throughout the United States, but not every app gives shoppers what they are looking for, and notoriously fickle customers won’t hesitate to abandon a brand based on a poor service perception. Consumers want convenience, but feel mobile apps are failing them when they need help.
Showrooming is still rampant, the report noted. As many as 27% of shoppers prefer to do mobile shopping in the actual store where they are shopping, but 26% browse mobile while in a competitor’s store. Retailers can thwart showrooming at their brick and mortar locations by providing better care in–app care than their competitors.
And app recommendations can help boost the bottom line. Some 23% of respondents said in–app recommendations would drive them to add more items to their cart and 33% said they would spend more time in the app.
The majority of shoppers have needed assistance in mobile apps. Approximately 81% of shoppers have needed assistance in a mobile app but only 12% used their mobile phone to get it. Why? It’s not available. Of those surveyed, almost half said they actively dislike leaving the app to get help.
Deals and discounts still rule, but they don’t have to dominate. There are other ways to help brand image and increase repeat customers. A little more than half (54%) of shoppers said coupons and discounts would increase desire to be a repeat customer, but easier product comparisons (34%), the ability to get help (25%) and more ways to pay (29%) also help increase repeat business.
The Contact Solutions shopping habits survey was conducted via online survey during November of 2014. More than 1,800 adults representative of the U.S. consumer population responded to this original online survey.