BREAK AWAY FROM THE COMPETITION WITH MOBILITY FOR RETAIL

INTRODUCTION

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In the world of retail, new technologies regularly redefine

how businesses reach customers. Not long ago, the

launch of the Internet provided a whole new take on

retail. Today, e-commerce has become a key selling

channel for most retailers. However, the businesses

that were quick to capitalize on the trend during its early

days were able to gain a competitive advantage, and

set themselves up for unprecedented revenue growth in

the years to come.

We can apply the knowledge gleaned from the Internet

boom to today’s most transformative retail technology:

the mobile device. Everywhere you look, it seems there’s

a new source that names mobility as the most radical

force in business. In fact, Forrester argued that mobile

leaders would break away from their competition, and

2015 would be the year it happened.

MOBILE DEvICE OwNERshIp hAs sURgED TO ThE pOINT OF ALMOsT COMpLETE MARkET sATURATION. Data from GSMA Intelligence found that the total

number of mobile devices in the world surpassed the

number of human beings in the world sometime in late

2014, and predictions hold that the spread will only grow

more pronounced over time. It’s evident that today’s

consumers are an inherently mobile species, and

retailers must account for that fact if they wish to reach

them.account for that fact if they wish to successfully

reach them.

Quantity (Billions)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

MOBILE CONNECTIONs, INCLUDINg M2M

gLOBAL pOpULATION, 2015

UNIQUE MOBILE sUBsCRIBERs

ThE MOBILECONsUMER

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First, access to almost limitless information on the go

has made consumers more empowered. They can

comparison shop, read product reviews, and share

their opinions on social media in the moment. They can

also be reached by marketing messages wherever they

are, but this fact has only made it more difficult to get

through to them with a message that will stand out and

be impactful.

While consumer media habits have evolved in recent

years, not all businesses have followed suit. According

to a study from the IBM Institute for Business Value,

only about half of all organizations have a clearly

defined mobility strategy, despite clear indications that

these strategies are essential to succeeding in today’s

mobile world.

If your organization falls into the camp of those who

haven’t adequately prepared for the mobile revolution,

this ebook can help. Read on to learn more about how

mobility is rapidly changing retail, and proactive steps

you can take to strengthen your organization.

ThE gROwTh OF MOBILITY hAs ChANgED ThE AvERAgE CONsUMER IN A NUMBER OF wAYs.

FOUR UsE CAsEs FOR MOBILITY IN RETAIL

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of traditional e-commerce, but there are important

distinctions to consider. In many ways, mobile commerce

serves as the bridge between digital commerce and the

physical world, because it can take place anywhere.

When done correctly, mobile commerce can connect

various touchpoints to form a seamless experience that

deepens the brand’s relationship with the customer.

However, it’s important to note that a bad mobile

experience is just as likely to drive a consumer into the

arms of a competitor. Retailers need to take the time to

make sure that their mobile app or mobile website is

easy to use across all devices.

In order to succeed in the age of mobility, you need to

a fresh perspective about the retail business, because

the rules have changed, completely and irreversibly.

Mobility doesn’t just affect one aspect of the business,

either. Here, we’ll describe four different use cases for

mobility in retail settings, and how they can help you

reach customers better and increase revenue.

Mobile Commerce

First and foremost, mobile devices provide another

opportunity for consumers to browse products, learn

about offerings, and place orders. Many retailers would

assume that mobile commerce is just an extension

FOUR UsE CAsEs FOR MOBILITY IN RETAIL

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about the product. It could also mean making trials,

demos and other digital content available to them on

their mobile device. Or, it could mean using specially

targeted offers or coupons to nurture the relationship

over time. No matter how you use it, mobility offers the

opportunity to directly influence what consumers think

about your brand. The important thing is that you take

advantage of the opportunity presented by it.

Customer Experience Management

No matter how a customer chooses to actually place

an order, their mobile device represents an important

opportunity to reach them, educate them, and build a

relationship with them.

This could mean allowing them to scan a product in-store

to access “extended packaging” with more information

FOUR UsE CAsEs FOR MOBILITY IN RETAIL

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By equipping your employees with mobile devices, you

can improve customer service by making them into

an unlimited source of product information. Maybe a

customer needs to know if a product is in stock in a

different color or size. With a mobile device in hand,

an employee would be able to provide an answer

immediately.

Mobile devices can also be useful on the backend

for merchandising and supply chain management.

As inventory levels change, employees can use their

mobile devices to react to those changes instantly.

Mobile Workforce

YOU CAN TAkE ADvANTAgE OF ThIs FACT BY BUILDINg A MOBILE-ENABLED wORkFORCE.

FOUR UsE CAsEs FOR MOBILITY IN RETAIL

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Presence and Location Analytics

FINALLY, MOBILE DEvICEs CAN UsE pREsENCE AND LOCATION ANALYTICs TO INsTANTLY DETECT whEN A spECIFIC CUsTOMER ENTERs A sTORE.

Finally, mobile devices can use presence and location

analytics to instantly detect when a specific customer

enters a store. Mobile beacons placed throughout the

store can determine whether the customer has shopped

in the store before, and if so, how often they shop, the

area of the store they typically shop in, how long they

typically shop for, and what they’ve purchased.

In the past, having this type of individualized customer

information would have been impossible for retailers,

but mobile devices have now made it a reality. Retailers

can now use this information to offer completely

personalized interactions and messaging, helping

improve customer loyalty and drive up revenue per

transaction.

RETAIL MOBILITY CONCERNs

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Mobile security

It’s no surprise that security is a major concern for

retailers. When customers interact with your business

using their mobile device, it’s important that you have a

plan in place to protect their personal data and comply

with any pertinent data security regulations like PCI

Data Security Standards. No matter the size of your

business, PCI DSS is a must for merchants who accept

credit cards, online or offline to ensure the security of

your customers’ payment data.

Also, if your employees are using their devices to

access company data, you must ensure that data is

safely backed up and stored. The consequences of a

data breach, both in terms of up-front losses and lasting

damage to company reputation, are so devastating

that you simply can’t afford to leave mobile security to

chance.

While the potential benefits of mobility in retail settings

are clear, actually taking advantage of those benefits

is easier said than done. The mobile marketplace

is extremely complex, and changes rapidly, making

it difficult for retailers to enter it with a strong mobile

strategy in hand. For one, retailers must be able to

account for multiple mobile platforms and an always-

changing roster of applications. Also, they must have

the infrastructure in place to support their mobile

efforts. In many cases, building this infrastructure can

take up far more time than the actual development and

deployment of mobile applications.

RETAIL MOBILITY CONCERNs

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ThIs pARTNER wILL wALk YOU ThROUgh ThE kEY CONCERNs OF DEpLOYINg MOBILITY FOR RETAIL, whILE ALsO ENsURINg ThAT YOU DON’T ExpERIENCE ANY MAjOR pROBLEMs.

Establishing a Mobile Strategy

In many cases, when retailers get themselves in trouble

with mobility, it’s because they feel the pressure to

adopt a mobile initiative, but don’t have the time or

resources needed to develop a comprehensive mobile

strategy. In cases like these, things like security end up

going unaccounted for, only to come back and hurt the

company later on.

In order to build the mobile strategy your company

needs, it can be helpful to work with a trusted provider

of mobile strategy consulting services.

ThINkAsg: YOUR RETAIL MOBILITY pARTNER

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thinkASG is a trusted provider of IT consulting and

solutions. Our goal is to help our customers take

advantage of the latest technologies by aligning them

to their business goals and objectives.

As an IBM Premier Business Partner, we are uniquely

positioned to help you take advantage of solutions from

IBM MobileFirst, a leading enterprise mobility suite. In

addition to providing some of the best mobility solutions

available, we also offer the knowledge and experience

to unite those solutions with a strong mobile strategy

that accounts for data security and other important

concerns.

Contact us today to get started planning your mobility

strategy.

yourCloud: Together we take a workload by workload

view to determine the best target infrastructure to

deploy your business applications - on or off-premise.

yourData: What can we learn from your business data to

help us craft intelligent solutions for protection, security,

compliance and resiliency of your most important asset

next to your people.

ABOUT Us

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yourSecurity: As a team, we work together to establish

a holistic and mature security posture that will help

detect, prioritize, address and help prevent security

breaches.

yourSupport: We ask, “Is everything essential to running

my business fully protected?” Define and address

gaps in coverage whether it be people, resources or

knowledge.

Our goal is to provide strategic outcomes that align

technology with the goals and objectives of your

business.

For more info click or call 800.991.9274 -

THINKASG.COM

YOUR TRUsTED IT CONsULTINg AND sOLUTION pROvIDER, ALIgNED wITh

YOUR BUsINEssthinkASG enables technology and business alignment through timely expertise, services and

solutions crafted to meet long-term vision, goals and objectives of the business.