In the retail landscape, the ways consumers shop have undertaken a monumental shift in recent years. Mobile devices and e-commerce have provided consumers with new ways to make purchases and make better informed buying decisions.
Walk into any retailer and there is a good chance you will see shoppers looking at their smartphones while browsing the shelves. This can either be as a way to find deals before buying or try out a product before purchasing online. This is a trend known as showrooming or webrooming.
According to a recent article from Entrepreneur, by the end of 2014 the digital landscape will have influenced $1.5 trillion or 50 percent of all in-store sales. On top of that, 84 percent of consumers were influenced by some form of digital device during shopping-related activities before or during their most recent store trip.
"If you think about digital conversion, it can be a lever to drive store sales," Kasey Lobaugh, a principal at Deloitte which studied this trend, told the news source. "These numbers are without [retailers] even trying."
He added that this has created a divide between what consumers want out of their shopping experience and what businesses are actually providing. This means organizations need to start getting proactive when it come to addressing this area of business.
A smart way to approach this is through the use of an SMS service. This can be used to send special coupons or improve marketing strategies to connect with consumers on their preferred platform.
