Retailers have never been known to be first out of the blocks with when it comes to new technology adoption. The reasons for this can be boiled down to one thing: with their narrow profits, retailers have no room for failure. However, the most fundamental aspect of the “reset moment ” we commonly discuss here at RSR is that it is consumer driven. Whereas the last “reset moment ” (triggered by the widespread adoption of in-store barcode scanning) took nearly 20 years to accomplish, consumer-driven adoption of smart mobile technologies has occurred in 5 years. The speed with which this happened has taken retailers by surprise.

In our most recent mobile report, The Impact of Mobile in Retail, retailers tell us that mobile’s primary ability is to enhance the overall value of the brand to their consumers, but yet they are responding cautiously; the number top-rated technology is to extend the already-existing eCommerce platform to mobile (75%, Figure 1).

Figure 1: Cautious… Too Cautious?

Source: RSR Research, December 2012

Looking at that result from a performance perspective, 84% of Retail Winners (even more than the 73% of laggards) say that an ecommerce site that can extend to mobile is very valuable. This is understandable, given that enabling the eCommerce site for mobile is the fastest way to get something going – and Winners jumped on the mobile opportunity more aggressively than others. But as is often the case for very early adopters, the first implementation isn’t always the best. Having seen mobile’s potential to change the consumer’s level of engagement and even the way mobile can affect how the overall brand fits into the consumers’ lifestyles, as well as mobile’s ability to enable better corporate communication an control with its employees, simply extending the existing eCommerce site will not go far enough to realize the potential.

Not Yet

Perhaps of even more concern: the fact that retailers’ investments so closely reveal their slow progress to date. Their use follows directly alongside their perceived value, and “an ecommerce site optimized for mobile access ” tops the list of their current investment in creating a mobile presence (Figure 2). Once more, we see that the only bets retailers seem willing to take are the safest ones.

Figure 2: Real Mobile Presence Still Far Off

Source: RSR Research, December 2012

And while Wifi access for employees represents the second-most popular investment, Wifi access for customers continues to be a very low priority for retailers (even though the vast majority of our respondents to this survey operate stores). We at RSR have been steadfast in our position on the value wireless infrastructure affords. From our most recent Store Report:  

“Just as a modern POS is the lynchpin for cross-channel connectivity, a wireless infrastructure is the lynchpin to real-time effectiveness… and Wi-fi for customers is becoming important as a tool for customer engagement within the body of the store. Rather than fearing showrooming, it would serve us to welcome customer interactions with friends within and outside the four walls of the store.” 

The problem isn’t just that retailers aren’t implementing Wifi in their stores (due to any number of reasons including cost of implementation, security concerns, etc), but that they don’t yet even see the value it can bring their brand. As we examine in the full report, only 56% of Retail Winners see great value in providing public Wi-Fi in their stores – not much more than the 52% of the aggregate response. This is an issue that retailers need to address if they hope to engage in a digital dialogue with consumers while they are in the store.

Looking at budgeted projects on the books, we see the most valuable component of any new mobile initiative is that it be on a “write once/deploy many mobile development platform ” (24%). The second-most budgeted technologies echo the first: 21% of retailers are budgeting for device provisioning and management services. While its encouraging that almost one-quarter of retailers are preparing to deal with the complexity of mobile application deployment, it also points out that most retailers fear that devices and platforms are destined to change too quickly. This is what is keeping retailers on the sidelines from enacting more exciting mobile projects. We invite you to read the full report to learn more.