How Smartphones are Changing the Retail Shopping Experience

To get customers to buy your products, a few different things need to happen.

First, you need to create a product that fits a need. Then, you need to get your product in front of potential customers, get them interested, and get them to actually make a purchase.

For certain products, this process can take quite a bit of time. But now there’s a device that’s making that process a lot quicker. And luckily, they’re becoming increasingly popular by the day. Smartphones allow users to connect with businesses, research products, and even make purchases from anywhere.

In a recent Forbes post, Adam Marchick explains:

“With a smartphone or tablet always in our pockets or at our fingertips, they are fundamentally changing the way people shop by reducing the time between when a consumer sees a compelling brand message and takes action.”

What this means is that brands can better take advantage of impulse to convince customers to buy. Before, customers would have to see brand messages on TV, in print, or on their computers, do some research and go to a store to make a purchase.

Now, customers can be out and about when they see a brand message, do a quick Google search on their phone and either make a purchase on the device or head right to the store where the product is available. This gives customers less time to lose interest, change their minds or learn more about a competitor. But it also means that businesses have to be extra conscious of their mobile presence.

Since so many customers now research or buy products on their mobile devices, you need to make sure your Web presence is fully optimized for mobile customers. By doing so, you can fully take advantage of that shortened buying process and the impulsive nature of mobile shoppers.

Shopping Photo via Shutterstock