Some consumers are less than pleased with the current experience that is being provided for their smartphones.
A recent study has shown that while consumers are increasingly expecting to be able to use mobile commerce as a part of their cross channel shopping experience, many are failing to have their expectations met by their favorite retailers.
The research shows that retailers are often letting their customers down over this channel.
The research was conducted by Accenture, which discovered that though about 90 percent of consumers feel that they should be able to shop at their favorite retailers online, in store, and over their smartphones, these merchants are not providing this ability over each of these channels. The result is that the consumers start to feel disappointed in these stores.
The mobile commerce seamless experience has yet to reach the levels that consumers expect.
In the United States the participants in the study expressed that they are seeking a seamless experience among in store, online, and mobile commerce. Forty nine percent of the respondents said that the best thing that their favorite retailers could do for them is to better manage these three primary shopping channels.
Of the participants in this study, 94 percent said that in store shopping is easy. However, only 74 percent said that it is easy to shop online. Far fewer, 26 percent, said that mobile commerce provides an easy shopping experience. That said, 43 percent of American shoppers do intend to purchase more using the internet and 23 percent plan to use their smartphones more for shopping purposes.
That said, while shoppers in the United States are clearly ready for the seamless mobile commerce, online and in store shopping experience, the majority of retailers still have a long way to go before they arrive at that point. Consumers still feel that the shopping experience over their smartphones is dragged out and complex.
One of the most important issues that was identified by the Accenture study was pricing. Seventy three percent said that they felt that the pricing seen in-store should be the same as it is online and over mobile commerce. Sixty one percent expect to be able to find the same items on sale. That said, a previous study performed by the same company showed that only 16 percent of stores have the same prices and sales online as they do in their brick and mortar locations.
