Best Practices: Defining Mobile ROI in Retail

Every firm wants to make money on their investments, and mobile applications are no exception. With 38% of retailers already adopting a mobile strategy, managers and business owners now have to measure the performance of their mobile initiatives. Retailers need to complete an expansive gap analysis, covering all customer touch points. The goal of this exercise is to show how their mobile initiative is impacting their customers, as well as to find the gaps in their mobile strategy which need to be filled by innovative mobile features inside the applications. By taking such an approach, a retailer can see both the value of the strategy and future opportunities for improving their customer’s experience. Based on a recent Aberdeen study of 129 retailers, three key benchmarks are used to measure a mobile ROI:

• Improved Customer Targeting Based on Conversion Rates


• Improved Brand Image/Awareness


• Customer Satisfaction

The study also shows that these benchmarks are directly correlated with mobile innovation and related investments. However, by just focusing only on these three metrics, retailers are missing some other benefits of their mobile initiative. I would suggest looking at these elements as well:

• Customer Stickiness / Increase of Repeat Purchase


• New Customer Acquisition


• Viral Marketing of Social Media Inside the Applications


• Product Differentiation


• Up Sale Opportunities Created


• New Services offered as a result of the Mobile Initiative

Customer centric retailers are now looking to expand their mobile offering looking to offer customers new features on their mobile applications. Innovative features such as:

• Proximity and Non-proximity Payments


• Dynamic Location Based Messaging


• Line Busting


• Mobile Phone Based Reviews/Video


• Service and Repair Functions


• In-store Interactivity

The development of mobile software is forecasted to eclipse development of computer software and reach sales of $30B a 3800% increase by 2013. Innovative application developers like Smartsoft Mobile Solutions will continue to push the technological envelope, helping our clients improve the experience of their customers.

For More Information Check Out:

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