The countdown to the holidays has begun in earnest and this year the opportunity for retailers is bigger than ever. Projected sales will be up 15 percent on last year, at $68 billion, and the proportion of sales made on a mobile device is expected to exceed last year’s figure of 20 percent.
Introducing mobile to your marketing and e-commerce strategy can be complex and overwhelming, so we’ve laid out four areas that retailers should focus on to grow their share of the mobile spoils.
Build your mobile database today
With so much opportunity ahead and only a few months to go, start building an opt-in mobile database now. Your database can be used for testing new coupons and promotions or to grow your existing fan base. Any mobile efforts can be done alongside your existing email database as an additional channel to reach consumers. Promotion across various channels is the best approach. No matter your strategy, promote your mobile marketing efforts at a number of touch points: on your website, at point of sale, on product packaging, via social media and through emails and advertising. In addition, train your in-store sales teams to encourage customer engagement on their cell phone.
Integrate text message marketing with existing online marketing
Text message marketing should be a priority in the run up to the holidays because of its reach – 97 percent of text messages are opened within minutes whereas 88 percent of business-to-consumer emails go unopened. To put that into starker perspective, consider that the average redemption rate of a coupon sent via text message is 10x that of email. When you consider that 42 percent of shoppers say sales and discounts are the most important factor for online holiday shopping, the missed sales opportunities from relying solely on email are obvious.
Text message marketing also allows for a timed approach because of the immediacy it offers versus email, and this is key for the holiday season. If you want more shoppers over the weekend, text out a quick “to expire” offer on a Friday that can be redeemed in store or on your website that weekend.
Keep it personal
The real secret to successful mobile marketing is to personalize what you send. The greatest brand engagement comes from relevant experiences for consumers. Content should be compelling, targeted and even interactive. This is where MMS, or multimedia text messaging, offers significant benefits because it can be used to share rich media. A vast majority of consumers use MMS in their daily lives to share pictures, videos and other content, which makes this a medium people are very comfortable with.
In the run up to the holidays, try using look books, product images, videos, tips and gift guides. For even greater engagement, segment the content you share by target consumer and product price point.
Optimize your online checkout for mobile devices
An incredible 97 percent of transactions on a mobile device get abandoned because of the frustrating experience of entering credit card information on a small screen. After running an excellent marketing campaign that brought visitors to your site, you don’t want to lose them at the last stretch. Consumers want to be able to complete a purchase in a few clicks. If your business sells digital goods, try direct carrier billing – a way of adding purchases directly to a consumers’ mobile carrier bill that requires just two clicks.