Shop Talk

Check Out Line: US online retailers dialing up mobile apps

Check out the increasing appetite for mobile applications among U.S. online retailers.

Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of online retailers either already have or are developing a mobile strategy and one out of every five has a fully implemented mobile strategy already in place, according to a study from Forrester Research and Shop.org, the National Retail Federation’s digital division.

“It’s imperative for online retailers to stay on top of what their customers want and these days it’s all mobile all the time,” Scott Silverman, Shop.org executive director, said in a statement. “Mobile commerce has tremendous potential and will no doubt grow to become a significant part of overall sales volume in years to come.”

“It’s definitely the buzzword in the industry at the moment,” Daniel Latev, retailing research manager at Euromonitor International, said of mobile commerce.

Retail executives agree, saying at the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit last week that they are taking the potential of this growth opportunity seriously at last.

Earlier this year, Forrester forecast U.S. online retail sales would total $173 billion in 2010.

“Mobile investment is modest now, but we see that it will pick up in the future, especially among the biggest brands that have already invested significant amounts in their mobile operations,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester vice president and lead author of the study.

Check Out Line: Online retailers upload some changes

Check out improved online shopping.   That’s the goal for a number of retailers who hope to keep online shoppers happy and, of course, increase sales.   According to Forrester Research Inc‘s The State of Retailing Online 2009: Merchandising Report, retailers have their sights on improving customers’ check-out experiences.  Companies also said they would try to show better images on product detail pages and site search filters to help shoppers find what they want.   According to the survey of 117 respondents, 79 percent of retailers said enhancing the checkout process was No. 1 on their list of things to do by the end of 2009.  Retailers also said they would try to be more clear about shipping charges to cut down on the online equivalent of walking away — shopping cart abandonment.   “Retailers realize that, particularly during an economic downturn, shoppers who understand shipping charges at the beginning of the checkout process are less likely to abandon their purchases,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research Vice President, Principal Analyst and lead author of the report.   As shoppers search for deals, 89 percent of respondents said they plan to introduce sale or clearance pages to their sites in the coming months.   The report is being released at a Shop.org event on Wednesday.  Members of the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org will also get the report, which others can buy online.  Forrester clients will be able to access the report as part of their subscription service in August.

Also in the basket:

Gas prices push consumer prices up in June

Two Eddie Bauer creditors look to liquidate stores, sources say (New York Post)

Discounter Daffy’s promotes NYC apartment rental bargain (New York Times)

Levi Strauss swings to loss on currency, soft sales

(Reuters photo)

Slump means market share gains in E-commerce

We know the U.S. recession is gloomy for retailers, online stores included, but at least a third of these e-commerce sellers say they’re taking greater market share amid the slump. 

That’s according to Shop.org and Forrester Research in a marketing study based on their annual State of Retailing Online report. Shop.org is a division of the National Retail Federation.

The survey of 117 online retailers showed that, despite the economic downturn, some 46 percent of respondents said they would spend as planned on their web businesses, with no scale-back of original budgets. Moreover, a quarter said they’d spend even more than originally planned, while fewer than a third said they’d spend less.

“As weak retailers disappear from the eCommerce landscape, companies that remain do have an opportunity to capture orphaned shoppers,” the report said.   Online retail has continued to outperform the brick-and-mortar retail environment, which has been hurt by lower mall traffic as shoppers try to avoid all but the most necessary shopping trips.      Analysts have pointed to Amazon.com as the online retailer finding the most success getting consumers to shop. With a strategy of lowered prices, increased selection and a discount shipping program, the Seattle-based e-commerce giant has managed to beat sales forecasts in its last two reported quarters.       In January, Forrester forecast a 11 percent jump in total U.S. online sales to $156 billion, representing 6 percent of the overall retail pie.      With a renewed push for customer acquisition — and retention — some 88 percent of retailers listed email communications as a high priority for 2009, higher than paid search, which is more expensive.      And, demonstrating the rise in popularity in sites like Facebook and Twitter, some 11 percent of retailers said that social media was an effective acquisition tactic.

(Reuters photo)