Mobile applications are evolving at an astounding pace. The first apps offered simple functionality, such as an online catalog or access to a scaled-back version of the company website. But that is quickly changing. Consumers want to manage their daily lives in the context of where they are at the moment and what they are doing. And, they want to have a little fun while they do it.
While retail is not the first and only industry to feel the disruption of the digital revolution, few verticals face the types of transformational shifts that retailers face in terms of changing consumer behaviors and expectations. From smartphone-enabled shoppers, mobile wallets and geo-location campaigns, Groupon and social networking, QR codes and RFID, or even localized assortments and personalized promotions, the move online has come to represent lots more than a new sales channel.
Many of the mobile applications available today benefit the traditional brick-and-mortar stores by improving the in-store experience or driving traffic to stores with discounts. While it's helpful to provide product information and coupons, shoppers are looking for a more useful, integrated experience.
Consumers have sophisticated expectations often set by the retailer's web presence, so it is increasingly important for retailers to provide mobile capabilities that meet such needs. It's no longer enough to offer online catalogs optimized for mobile phones. At a minimum, everyone should be able to access the same 'favorites' lists they created online, see peer reviews, track shipments, and order products directly from their phone.
Because there are many apps now competing for attention, an effective mobile commerce strategy should include creating a compelling experience for the consumer. The mobile app must deliver what a user needs now, in just a click or two, using information they've already provided. To be compelling, the experience needs to not only be useful, but personal, fun, and optimized for mobile devices. It's also beneficial to offer a method to cache information so that user data is saved if the consumer moves out of signal coverage.
Cloud computing can resolve some of the burning issues faced by retailers across the globe. But the truly important benefits come with applications that are specifically designed for the cloud, because they allow retailers to mine data much more intensively with cloud applications than with a traditional solution. Within a traditional retail IT environment, there are always trade-offs in terms of how much science or computing power you'll use to solve a given problem.
