With over 90% of retail being done in stores narrowly focusing on e-commerce and mobile sales, or worse yet in-channel conversion rates, is a mistake. There are clear opportunities to tap into more value for your business by putting your digital assets to work in new ways.
84% of store visitors use mobile devices before or during a shopping trip and today digital technologies influence 36% of in-store retail sales, and this number is expected to increase to 50% of in-store sales by the end of 2014. Leaders must make closing the loop between your physical retail environment and this digital enabled customer top of your agenda.
A strong and evolving way to close the loop with the mobile customer is the digitally enabled receipt.
Digitally enabled receipts give a physical means for your
customer to digitally connect back to your brand often by a scannable barcode, QR code, a URL
or even a simple numeric code they can enter on one of your digital properties. They can also
take the form of emailed receipts if your customer is willing to sign-up and offer that contact information
up front.
Once the customer makes this connection you can instantly connect a wealth of information in their mobile web browser, your app or website and in those important back-end customer data system. You’ll now have a better view of those “abandoned carts” that were pulling down your conversion rate now turning into verified sales, you’ll have new purchase data that you can use to help personalize their future shopping trips and you’ll have a new view into customer loyalty that’s easier than keeping presenting a card.
Now this doesn’t come free, with consumers what’s in it for me is always top of mind but retailers have put forward some interesting models that are worth looking into. Walmart uses there digitally connected receipt to power Savings Catcher, a slick way for consumer to save some extra pennies by comparing their receipt to local competitors. Walgreens, Macys and Home Depot talk about streamlining purchasing, reducing the clutter in wallets and going green.
Regardless of the way you approach the consumer if you can engage them digitally connected receipts have the power to unlock purchase and marketing data to use with partners as a new revenue stream and internally to more clearly define cross-channel shopping behaviors and attribute your digitally influenced sales appropriately helping be a better digital leader who’s not gazing at their navel and watching their conversion rate go by.
Thanks for reading.
-Ben
Some stats sourced from Deloitte