Shop Talk

Check Out Line: US online retailers dialing up mobile apps

Ben Klayman

Jun 29, 2010 12:40 UTC

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.

Check Out Line: Online retailers upload some changes

Jessica Wohl

Jul 15, 2009 13:10 UTC

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)

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.