It’s hard to go even a few minutes in a retail discussion these days without arriving at a certain place: the need for in-store employees to be better informed than they are, and the role that new mobile technologies play in making that a plausible reality.

However, as we see in our most recent Store Report, retailers know that no matter how much technology they want throw at the problem, the expense associated with devices – and how quickly they become antiquated – is going to be a serious issue. Which is why so many retailers hunger to find ways to leverage the consumer’s device, instead. However, this is a nut yet to be cracked: few retailers have found a way to meaningfully connect with consumer on her beloved device.

Which methods provide the best chance to get shoppers through the front door and make the time they spend in-store more valuable so far? Figure 1 shows how differently Winners and Laggards view these questions.

Figure 1: Get ‘Em In and Keep ‘Em Smiling

Source: RSR Research, June 2014

Winners place far greater focus on the power of the consumer’s smartphone. It is no secret that the average shopper is in love with her personal device – she carries it everywhere she goes and uses it for nearly every daily task at this point. And for Winners, that relationship is entirely leverageable.

Have we yet to see great examples of phone-based communication (whether through SMS, email, app or direct call) to get consumers into a store? Apart from excessive price and promotions efforts that are mainly delivered via email, the answer is “not yet “. But based on the fact that the most successful retailers see such tremendous opportunity to leverage these customer-owned tools in the future, we expect to see not only interesting ways to entice shoppers off the street, but even more creative ways to liven up the in-store shopping experience. She’s already got her phone out: what can you do to get her talking to you on it?

Winners also have very high hopes for social networks’ abilities to engage consumers. Again, these are still relatively early days. Apart from the “get a friend’s advice ” demos that are part and parcel to any socially-enabled solution demo, currently, few have cracked the nut beyond price and promotions as to how Facebook, Pinterest, or LinkedIn could be leveraged to create great value either in-or-out of the store’s four walls. But the important thing is this: the better a retailer’s performance, the more likely they are to see the potential.

We invite you to read the full report, which is available to everyone here.