A program functioning over multi-channels which was created and sponsored by RedPrairie, Commerce in Motion, functions to provide commentary, content, and conversation to retail and supply chain executives and has now announced the results of their benchmark study entitled “The SoMoLo Imperative: Social, Mobile, Local Shopping Reaches the Tipping Point.”
Commerce in Motion commissioned the study, which included the participation of almost 150 different retail executives and questioned them about the impact of social (So), mobile (Mo), and local (Lo) consumer behaviors on the operations of the retail industry.
The purpose of the research was to better understand the expectations and behaviors of the ever growing number of shoppers who make purchases through those channels, and to benchmark the ways in which merchants are changing their various marketing and selling strategies in order to cater to those customers.
According to the RedPrairie director of commerce studies, David Bruno, who is also the publisher and editor of CommerceInMotion.com, today’s retailers are facing significant pressure to improve the shopping experience through various channels.
He explained that though retailers do understand that they are already falling behind, until this point, no research has been performed “to pinpoint the disconnect between consumer expectation and retailer initiative. This study is the first step in a retailer’s roadmap to competitive advantage,” in seeking consumers through SoMoLo.
This survey, on the other hand, has shown that retailers are failing to keep up with what SoMoLo consumers are expecting. For example, only 46 percent of the respondents said that their customers expect to be able to make a purchase using a mobile device, but only 38 percent of those companies actually offer that capability.
More on mobile commerce and how its changing the world we live in.