Consumers Flex Their Mobile Muscle

Shoppers are turning to mobile apps for product information when making purchasing decisions, so retailers need to engage with app developers to make sure they've got the right information.

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It’s hardly a secret that retailing is undergoing one of the biggest transformations in its history. Mobile point-of-sale systems, analytics and the cloud are fundamentally altering both online and in-store experiences. What’s not apparent to many retailers, says GS1 U.S. President and CEO Bob Carpenter, is how much power and sway today’s consumers have.

In the past, the power of comparison shopping was mostly limited to the web, where companies such as Nextag, Bizrate, Shopzilla and PriceGrabber compared everything from computers and cameras to shoes and perfume. Now, thanks to barcode scanning and price comparison apps, this capability is being pushed out to stores, where it has the power to thoroughly disrupt traditional business models.

Carpenter notes that, in the past, retailers have relied on their own loyalty card programs to communicate directly with consumers. However, today’s consumer is increasingly looking for price comparisons and go-to apps not related to specific retailers. As a result, retailers must work with third-party mobile apps to share private-label information with consumers. Those that stand on the sidelines risk losing mind share -- and market share.

However, success requires more than simply connecting with various pricing apps. CapGemini, which consults with many of the world’s top retailers, says that there’s a critical need to ensure the accuracy of product data that’s shared over the air. In a recent report, Beyond the Label, CapGemini and GS1 found that between 30 percent and 40 percent of smartphone users rely on barcode scanning apps. The use of these apps has increased about 1,600 percent since 2010.

However, 91 percent of mobile barcode scans returned incorrect product descriptions; 75 percent returned no data at all, and 38 percent of consumers said they would not purchase a product if they didn't trust the production information displayed about it on their smartphone.

Carpenter says that retailers must begin working with app producers to improve accuracy and create consistent and streamlined tools. Solutions that share digital product information with consumers must work in a global environment, be highly scalable, provide real-time data, and be multi-sourced to include all the data that consumers require to make a buying decision.

By Samuel Greengard / Baseline