Mobile Apps and Retail Sales

The bar code scanner Christmas

Christmas is coming, but are the retailers ready to compete in the mobile app economy? Christmas 2011 became known as the bar code scanning app Christmas. Consumers would browse for items in stores and shopping malls, decide which item they wanted, and then would scan the bar code label for a cheaper price at another store nearby or online. Retailers like Best Buy became customer showrooms while sales were completed on the Internet or somewhere else.  I often said that the most effective sales tool retailers could have used to improve their sales last Christmas was thick walls and poor cellular service in their store.

My introduction to retailer specific apps began this past summer when I was with my wife in the Nordstrom shoe department.  It was the half-yearly sale and the store was busy.  My wife had looked at the website before we came to the store and had found the perfect pair of Robert Edelman boots and we had come to try them on.  The sale man was not sure which pair she was referring to and all the computer terminals were in use, so my wife got her iPhone pout and downloaded the Nordstrom App.  After a few quick touches, she was able to show the salesman a picture, and 15 minutes later we were walking out with new boots.

• The salesman made a sale
• Nordstrom now had customer history and a direct method to send my wife sales notices, coupons, free shipping notices, etc



It is estimated that 1 out of 4 shoppers
use a smart phone while they shop

• My wife was happy with her purchase and shared the app with her friends.

For 2012, are the retailers ready?

Let's look at various retailers and their mobile apps that are available for download today as Christmas 2012 approaches.  What features have retailers introduced so they increase sales to smart phone users this year.

1.  Allow a customer to scan a bar code and compare prices

To combat the single biggest challenge to retailers during the Christmas 2011 season, retailers have now included a bar code scanner in their apps.  The old phrase, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" applies here, too. However, instead of allowing a customer to scan a bar code and search online databases looking for the cheapest advertised price for any item, from any online retailer or brick & mortar store.  Now, the customer is directed to the retailer's store and can compare the price of the scanned item with that same item in their store.  I was able to compare the price of a board game, "Apples to Apples" at Toys 'R Us ($14.69), Target ($17.99), and Amazon ($18.99 plus shipping).

2. Allow a customer to purchase an item from their smart phone

The most important function of any app is to make it as easy as possible for a consumer to purchase a good or service from your company.  A mobile app is another sales channel that is within three feet of your customer 24-hours, 7-days a week.  I know that I will buy clothes or perfume for my wife this Christmas, Legos or other toys for my children, and a Starbucks gift card for my mother-in-law, neighbor, and sister, among others.  I can purchase all of these items using my smart phone with the Nordstrom App, Toys 'R Us App, and Starbucks App.  Imagine completing all of your Christmas shopping from your dentist's waiting room.  Each of these apps requires the customer to first enter a credit card that will be used for all their purchases.  The industry term is Payment Device of File (PDOF), but once a customer enters the credit card information and CVN or other security information, it is ready to be used for purchases any time, day or night.

3.  Allow a customer to browse and compare items

The "Classic Gentleman"

A successful app will let a customer search for a specific item such as black pants or red blouse, but it will also let you browse by a look or style.  The Nordstrom App and the Cabi App are two of my favorites in this category.  For those people like myself who are not naturally gifted in the world of fashion, I can search for clothes using style descriptions like "The Classic Gentlemen", "The Modern Man", or "the Style Seeker".  Even the font and italicized print tells me what kind of clothes are in the at collection and I probably would not fit there.  The Cabi App takes things one step further by allowing a customer to dress a model with different outfits, mix and matching colors and patterns with different blouses and skirts.  It allows a person to look at an entire outfit on a person before they even start to try it on.

4.  Create a "wish list" to share with others

From Net-a-Porter App

The Nordstrom App is one of my wife's favorite, and at the same time, it has become one of mine, too.  She used to have the salesperson write down the name and size of what I was supposed to go buy and surprise her.  With the smart phone, she had progressed to taking pictures and sending text messages with the picture attached.  Now, the Nordstrom App allows a person to create and save a "wish list" that you can share with others (such as your husband), so they can know what to get for an anniversary, Christmas, or birthday present.

This wish list also has an added advantage for the retailer.  The wish list is also available to the retailer.  In the case of my wife, Nordstrom.  Now, Nordstrom can begin to build a customer profile of my wife and customize marketing and promotions to her.  She always receives text messages about every shoe sale and the opportunity for free shipping has also increased.

For now, there are less than 40 days left for Christmas shopping.  Good luck with a parking space at the mall, finding the sizes and colors you are looking for, and don't forget to bring your smart phone.  We will see how the retailers have fared in a few months time.