Retail on the Move: M Commerce

If you thought you were spending too much time surfing the net on your phone (and more specifically browsing and buying products) you'd be right- as a new survey (commissioned by Velti) has revealed that we are spending up to two weeks a year browsing retail sites on our mobiles!!!

The research, which was commissioned in order to examine and better understand how consumers are using their mobiles with regards to retail, has also uncovered some other significant details for retailers trying to make in-roads into M Commerce:

High Street Lagging Behind
A significant proportion of consumers surveyed (47% of all consumers and 66% of those demanding IPhone users) said that high street retailers aren't doing a good enough job with their mobile sites, and I'm sure most of us have anecdotal evidence to personally support that- the many retail m-commerce sites that fail spectacularly in terms of usability and are just a nightmare to navigate through on the phone.
Additionally, when asked what sites they had bought from over the phone in the last 12 months, Amazon and EBay dominated with 50% between them, whilst established high street retailers such as Tesco, Argos, Next, barely got a look in (7%, 4%, 1% respectively)

How to Win Us Back
But, it turns out us mobile shoppers are a pretty cheap date, as we can be easily bought back with a targeted SMS from a retailer/brand, 50% of respondants saying this has enticed thme to make a further purchase from that retailer.
And interestingly, 82% of those surveyed who use their phones whilst watching TV said that they research further details around a product or service on their mobile devices after watching an ad- demonstrating the potential synergy between media channels and the value of TV advertising in a digital age. .


PAYG vs Contract
  Finally, it's the PAYG customers who are spending a fortnight a year on mobile retail sites- the contract/IPhone users are on for a measly eight days a year in comparison. This presents a strong opportunity for retailers to better target these consumers, who Vodaphone say are typically younger consumers (those not old enough or ready for a contract) who are very technology and social media savvy, with their m-commerce offerings.
 

Some food for thought there for clicks and mortar retailers working on their m-commerce offering, who get a Bminus for effort. Look to pure play e-comm retailers for inspiration, sweet-talk us round with some targeted SMS deals, a harmonious multi-media marketing campaign, and embrace the very present younger m-commerce consumer.

The un-stoppable WALMART

Research commissioned by WPP on the world's top 100 most valuable brands has determined that the mighty Walmart is the world's most valuable retail brand. WPP top global brands .
The top 10 retail brands are listed below.

Unsuprisingly yet a little depressingly, 6 of these are the hypermarket/discount retailers (Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Target, Aldi and Auchan) which have changed the face of high streets and town centres around the globe. The other four include the two online giants - EBay and Amazon, and the hugely successful European fashion brands H&M and Zara.

The most successful global brands are those which one would expect provide the best justification to customers for their purchase. Looking at this list suggests that this justification is mostly based on reliably being the cheapest and most widely distributed purveyor of said goods rather than much else (with the exception perhaps of the two clothing brands which are both known for being reliably fashion forward in addition to very price competitive) which perhaps is somewhat inevitable, particularly in the challenged economic environment we still find ourselves in.

Peter Walshe, global brand director at Millward Brown adds that 'As shopping becomes more of a multi-channel experience with customers comparing prices in-store and online, retail brands will also need to ensure consistent online and offline shopping experiences'. This is a point I have made in the past, and will become increasingly important as online shopping continues to grow- to succeed, retail brands will need to take great care to replicate the values which encourage their customers to shop with them, across all platforms they trade upon, to ensure customers continue to trust them with their purchases.

Most valuable global retail brands

Rank Brand, Value, Change vs. 2009


13 Walmart $39,421m -4%

15 Amazon $27,459m 29%

17 Tesco $25,741m 12%

42 Carrefour $14,980m 0%

62 Target $12,148m -1%

63 H&M $12,131m 1%

76 Ebay $9,328m -28%

80 Zara $8,986m 4%

83 Aldi $9,328m 1%

96 Auchan $7,848m n/a