• by Gina Lovett , September 18, 2012

Mobile retail is beset with a huge array of challenges from platform fragmentation to the unpredictability of consumer behaviour. And more than anything, it’s worth putting more money into product than it is into marketing, Sleight said.

‘Having your product talked about and lauded by customers is worth far more,’ he added.

In summary, retail innovation on smartphones is driven by content and utility (helping users locate what they want through a content rich environment), location and time-specific daily deals fuelling impulse purchases, social context, and relevance and personalisation. For retailer apps, distinguishing between male and female users can mean the difference between gaining or losing a sale. 

Retail innovation on tablets is driven by the lean-back nature of the device. Retail should focus on creating a 'wow' experience through ‘beautiful’ products, simplified presentation, content and utility in a magazine or TV format, supplemented with the use of video.

Multichannel retail,combining mobile with in-store shopping, enhances producrt research and information, enables price comparison, is focused on user loyalty and facilitating payment through handsets. Done in this way, mobile can boost, and not impair physical retail stores.