International Data Corporation (IDC) Retail Insights has announced the availability of the first IDC PeerScape, “Business Strategy: IDC PeerScape – Retail Mobility Project-Based Initiatives,” revealing five critical initiatives for retail companies deploying mobile solutions.
IDC PeerScapes were designed to identify the practices that have the most impact on the success or failure of an initiative.
For retail companies seeking new mobile solutions to build customer loyalty and improve business performance, the report highlights the five critical initiatives that can make or break the program.
Leslie Hand, research director and report author, examined several real-world retail deployments and identifies the initiatives that will have the greatest impact on the success of similar projects.
The report also measures the impact of these practices on revenue, customer satisfaction, and operational productivity, and assesses how difficult they are to deploy and maintain.
For the past half century, retail business growth has been achieved by opening more stores, broadening assortments, and automating processes to make shopping more convenient and valuable for the consumer.
Satisfying customers today transcends place or time, and growth is dependent on continually creating “best experiences” — the last best experience etched in the mind of the consumer every time a shopping journey is more extraordinary and engaging than the last.
Mobility, a critical enabler of this “best experience,” requires applications that will engage and inform consumers and increase employee productivity.
Mobility brings with it significant complexity and a rate of change most retailers have never seen before.
For those companies that have successfully deployed mobile solutions, the rewards have been greater customer loyalty and higher sales and profitability.
On the other hand, those that have failed to meet customer expectations have seen abandoned “carts” and lost sales, and declining performance.
This IDC Retail Insights report is a guide to critical initiatives for retail mobility projects.
The five critical initiatives include, Identify and Align Cross-Functional Resources; Establish KPIs and Test for Performance and Usability; Clearly Articulate Governance Policies; Adopt Agile Implementation Methods and Leverage Cloud or SaaS-Based Services.
Leslie reported that, “Consumer-facing and enterprise-facing mobility programs top the list of initiatives retailers are actively pursuing, and applying the best practices of the leaders can speed progress and reduce costs.”
Mobile applications will soon be playing a part in many more retail transactions. But as mobile app–enabled sales spread from the early adopters to mainstream buyers, there will be dramatically increased reputational risk associated with app failures or poor customer experiences.
More effective testing will become increasingly important.
The consumer’s last best experience will be the benchmark for all others, and customers will increasingly expect mobile devices to play a central role in their shopping.