Retail goes mobile - 95% of customers make purchases via smartphone

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To better understand how consumers communicate with retail brands, Clickatell’s new research found considerable interest in personalised and convenient commerce experiences through mobile messaging conversations. As global retailers head into the holiday season and shift strategies to handle changing consumer shopping habits, brands are examining how rich, mobile-first commerce experiences can help attract customer loyalty. The Chat Commerce Trends Report: Retail Edition found that 69% of participants want to receive order updates via mobile message, 52% would like to use mobile messaging to track loyalty benefits or inquire about loyalty programmes, and 47% would like to use mobile messaging to connect with a customer service agent. Younger generations have the highest interest in using mobile messaging with a retail brand, specifically 92% of Gen Z and 95% of millennials.

The report also highlights a distinct opportunity to offer personalised deals and promotions through mobile channels, as consumers continue to grow cautious of high costs during this upcoming holiday season. In fact, 51% of consumers want access to special offers via mobile messaging and 81% of consumers are more likely to purchase an item that is promoted through an SMS link than through an email. Brands have the opportunity to allow consumers to browse, shop, access personalised deals and track orders all on their mobile devices through a value-rich, mobile-first commerce experience.

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Additional key findings include:

Younger generations are mobile-first:

• 77% of millennials and Gen Z want to be able to track a delivery through personalised mobile messaging
  
• 86% of consumers are interested in a personalised experience with a retail company, especially millennials (92%) and Gen Z (90%)

Consumers are eager to track packages and orders:

• 48% of consumers want to receive shipping and order updates via mobile messaging, which is higher than the desire to receive personalised promotions (13%), information about a product (10%) or connect with a live agent (10%).
  
• Three-quarters (75%) of consumers want to track a delivery through a personalised mobile messaging link and 69% of consumers would like to receive order updates via mobile messaging channels.

High demand for loyalty programs and deals via mobile:

• 51% of consumers want access to special offers via personalised mobile messaging and 46% of consumers want to receive personalised promotions for things like last-minute deals or alerts when new offerings or products become available
  
• 52% of consumers would like the ability to track and redeem loyalty benefits or ask about loyalty programmes through mobile channels

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Mobile payment options are on the rise:

• Consumers are most likely to enter credit card details (61%) or use PayPal (57%) to make a retail purchase on their smartphone. Apple Pay is also increasingly popular (23% prefer this method)
  
• The majority of consumers (95%) make retail purchases on their smartphone
  
• 27% would make a payment via a secure payments link

“The results indicate an opportunity for retail companies to engage with consumers this holiday season through their preferred messaging channels, considering a majority of consumers want to communicate with brands across the entire shopping lifecycle,” said Pieter de Villiers, CEO and co-founder of Clickatell. “For retail brands, the next wave of commerce is building relationships with consumers in the same way they communicate with friends or family every day: on their mobile phones.”

The full digital Chat Commerce Trends Report: Retail Edition is available here.