How are mobile apps valuable virtual assistants for retailers ?

Retail is a tricky business of making sure you have your “aces in their places” to ensure customer engagement is maximized, thus increasing sales and profits. As mobile devices permeate our culture, we can’t ignore how important a brand’s mobile application has become in the game of increasing sales. Does your mobile application have the features it needs to be your retail operations most valuable asset?

Here’s the list of the most effective ways to be a leader in the retail market through your brand’s own mobile app services:

Barcode Scanning and Shopping Cart Integration

Allow your customers to scan items or add items from a catalog to a list saved directly to the mobile application. Many web ecommerce platforms like Magento also offer this support in mobile apps. These functions can be integrated into other features listed within this article in order to streamline and simplify the retail experience for your customers.
Who Benefits: Companies with clients who repurchase the same items on a regular basis. This can be commercial-scale suppliers such as restaurant supply stores or construction material suppliers, or it can be applied to consumer retailers. The key is to provide your clients with a shopping experience that maximizes their time and that of your own sales associates. Customers who know what they are looking for ahead of time require less face time with your associates and let your people take care of more customers in the long run.

Efficient Loyalty Program

 Loyalty Programs

Design a consumer portal that engages customers who frequent your establishment regularly and that allows you to communicate and interact with them more directly.
Who Benefits: Retailers looking to build sales and maximize on existing business. Such an interface can be used to track purchase history, send special offers, and even notify loyal customers ahead of time when items with limited availability will be in stock. The application’s effectiveness in this regard is two-fold. First, it rewards the loyalty of existing clients and increases average sales. Secondly, it creates a sense of buzz about your business and your loyalty program – those who don’t have the application and aren’t part of the crowd want to know how to become part of it so they too can reap the rewards.

Mobile Payments And Pre-Ordering Benefits

If you’re a retail company or a restaurant, consider adding features to your mobile application that allow customers to pre-purchase or pre-order products and services. You can also add the ability to pay for their purchases through the application itself while in the store.
Who Benefits: Pre-ordering and being able to pay without waiting in long lines adds a level of efficiency and convenience to your operation for the customers. Many of the guests that walk through your doors are already on a time-constrained schedule, so if lines are long, or you’re a large retailer with significant retail space, you have the potential of losing sales. Whether your application allows customers to order their merchandise ahead of time or to pay for their purchase via their phone in the store, this functionality allows customers to maintain their own schedule and get the shopping experience they desire.

GeoTargeting Marketing Strategy & In-Store Navigation

Targeted Marketing

A series of features can be built into your application that utilize GPS positioning and in-store beacon navigation in order to modify how the application functions depending on client’s location. This allows for indoor positioning in large retail spaces, targeted special offers and deals depending on the customer’s location in the retail space, and even a transition in features and application interface depending if the customer is at home or within the store.
Who Benefits: Ultimately, your bottom line. By easing the customer’s navigation of your sales floor and guiding them directly to the items they are looking for, you ensure they will make a purchase and won’t leave frustrated and empty-handed. When you allow the application to track the customer’s location within the store and offer them targeted coupons and offers based on their position, you are engaging them in a way that could increase overall sales. Your mobile application can even be built to offer different functionality and features if the customer is within your retail space. By providing functionality outside of the store that allows customers to plan their visit and works to draw them in with the promise of sales and special loyalty perks, and then changes to engage them in in-store events, specials, coupons, and location services, the application is providing a value-added experience and level of engagement that customers appreciate and will return to time and again.

Kays Harbor Technologies understands what it takes to build super-star applications that engage your customers in new and exciting ways. If you think your brand’s mobile application may need a pep talk, don’t hesitate to reach back to us. We’ll make sure you’re putting your best player in the game every time.