go-Digital Blog on Digital Marketing

The Smartphone Is Becoming A Goliath In The Retail Industry

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-smartphones-are-revolutionizing-the-shopping-experience-2011-11

A study by the Times finds many retailers–including major ones like Best Buy, Nordstrom and Amazon–offer the most promotional deals for smartphones, which generate millions, if not billions, in revenue.

Amazon, for example, will make $5.37 billion in sales through mobile devices by year’s end, according to a recent survey by Internet Retailer.

Flash deal and group-buying sites are also jumping on board with mobile-exclusive deals of their own. Gilt Groupe, for example, started offering special holiday promotions on Friday, November 25 at 6 a.m.

Surprisingly, it’s bricks-and-mortar stores who will be making the biggest mobile-deal push. One of the main reasons is because they must compete against the growing consumer trend of using price comparison apps, says Time Moneyland’s Brad Turtle. These apps let you scan an item, compare retailers’ prices and read product reviews, which have become increasingly popular in the last year.

What’s funny, though, is how many retail stores started arming their salespeople with the same equipment. Reuters reports that companies like Lowe’s, Best Buy and Toys R Us gave their people smartphones of their own to research products, check rival’s prices and even make purchases.

More than 40 percent of retailers now have a policy of competing against lower online prices through mobile phones, according to the research firm RSR.

Lowe’s alone is using over 42,000 Apple iPhones and distributing them to 1,700 of their stores.

With the equipment, employees can engage customers more effectively by using iPhones to track down the same information consumers are tracking. They’ll also be able to quickly see if products are in stock, or still available on the website or at another nearby store.

Some companies are also allowing their employees to either match or beat prices that a consumer finds somewhere else on their phone—good news for the consumer.

Check out 8 amazing and free phone apps to help you save >

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See Also:

• Here’s Why Cyber Monday Will TROUNCE Black Friday
• Infographic: Which Cities Spent The Most On Black Friday?
• Cyber Monday Is Just Another Hyped-Up Marketing Gimmick

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