We Are Magnetic

Will this week be a week to remember? Will it be a week that gets etched in retail history? Will it be a week that gains much column space in reviews of ‘things that have changed the retail environment’? Hmm, we’ll see. What it is however, is a week that sees a bastion of the British high street leap right into our modern digital era. It’s a week that sees Marks go mobile.

Marks & Spencer has launched a new version of its website designed to be used on mobile phones and mobile devices. This, it claims, is a first from a major UK high street retailer.

M&S’s aim with their mobile launch is to allow customers to search and make purchasing easily from any web-enabled mobile device. With more than 24,000 products available from clothing to technology, you’ll be packing quite a substantial store in you pocket.

The site, developed by Usablenet, takes M&S’s online offer away from the home and, perhaps ironically, back onto the streets.

So, will mobile shopping really take off on the UK high street?…

Newer experiences for older customers

I’ve talked a little before about the freedom digital is finding, but with M&S mobile we’re seeing real strides in the way digital channels are connecting with new customers. For a retailer who’s natural demographic is far from the techno youth set normally associated with the latest digital channels, this has got to be a bold move.

The retailer has seen positive online grow this year – in the first three months of 2010 M&S witnessed sales at online shopping division M&S Direct grow 48% having seen a 32% rise in the three months to Christmas.

So, if the ‘typical’ M&S shopper is saving their parking pounds and switching on their PCs to purchase, will they reach for their mobiles and spend more on the move?

Step into a new kind of shop

Mobile retailing is the next logical step for the high street. Having created successful brands both on the street and online good retailers have been experimenting with digital expansion for sometime now. We’ve seen digital retail displays, interactive poster displays, as well as wholly immersive digital retail environments. Now we’re seeing the reality of pocket powered shopping.

The interesting point here, I think, is not that this move to mobile is happening – it was always just a matter of time, it’s the fact that it’s M&S that’s taking the lead. For a brand that, one could argue, has netted the silver surfer (although I have no figures to backup this statement!) it will be interesting to see if the mobile service attracts similar success.

What is guaranteed however, is that within our increasingly niche focused society, the more outlets a retailer can offer, the more chance they have of pocketing the purchasers pound. Opening up a new kind of shop can only help in attracting new customers, giving current customers options, and extending the brand’s reach.

A mobile high street

The high street will inevitable go mobile, and not just for shopping. In a way, the mobile web is the natural partner to the high street shopping experience. With our natural preference for browsing, we want to search beyond the rail. We want to compare the products we’re looking at, in the hear and now, with other options far beyond the shop we’re in.

The point of ‘reality shopping’ is to feel the product, see it in its full reality, touch it and try it on for size. But then we want to check the web for the comments of others, for more technical details, and of course for a better price. And lets not forget after purchase, we want to tell all out mates about the cool new thing in our lives, so we pop up mobile Facebook or Twitter.

Smart retailers will start to feed this convergence between the real and the digital. They’ll welcome us as soon as we walk through the door, perhaps with a special offer text, or a message to offer an incentive to purchase from their mobile store. Smart shops will engage with their customers where and when that customer is really making their purchasing decisions.

Added value and the incentivisation of purchase on the move, will be key to converting the passive shopping experience into pure pounds. Now retailers can ‘talk’ to their customers right when they’re in store.

Convenience, convenience, convenience

So, back to the original question – will mobile shopping take off? The answer is a simple Yes. Why? Well, as with all successful technologies, it’s a case of convenience.

Mobile shopping offers several key benefits to the customer:

1. The customer gets to experience the product ‘in the flesh’
2. They can explore greater product detail than that available on display promotions
3. They can discover the ‘real truth’ behind the product (customer comments and recommendations)
4. They can find the best price – mass price comparison whilst still in store
5. They get to avoid the queues at the checkout
6. They save their arms by getting someone else to carry their bags back home!

Overall the customer benefits by the mobile experience.

For me, this convergence of retail channels holds the prospect of delivering a near utopian shopping experience. One where the passions and emotions of a good quality Saturday shopping experience, are enhanced by the hard facts and deal busting bargains of the online option.

It’s all a tantalising prospect, especially for all of us who love digital but still have to endure the high street. I look forward to seeing the success of M&S mobile and will have a keen eye on the rise of the mobile retail channel.