10 Reasons Why Your Retail Store Needs an App–Now

by Chris Preimesberger

Ninety-one percent of those who participated in the survey stated they have positive feelings toward their smartphones and their apps.

Two-thirds of those surveyed said they are more likely to shop at a store that offers an app with a searchable product catalog, featured sales and a store locator. Of app “power users”—the 25% of consumers who use apps most frequently—84% reported being more likely to shop at a store with a useful app.

Walgreens has found that customers who interact with stores online and also through a store’s mobile app spend six times more on average than those transacting at stores alone.

Average favorability toward 10 nationwide U.S. retailers that offer apps was 40 percent higher among those who used the company’s app versus those who did not. Even among regular shoppers, those who own apps tended to rate the company whose app they own 5% more favorably.

Eighty-one percent of those surveyed said their phone or tablet has changed the way they shop, with 15 percent describing their experience as “completely changed.”

Taking into account expectations for the future, 90% expect mobile to change their shopping behavior by 2015. The majority of respondents expect grocery and department stores to have “key services and functions available by app” today, rising to two-thirds within the next two years.

More than 50% called an easily usable interface and a store-finder feature “critical.” Customer service access and the ability to buy items through the app were the next most popular retail app features.

The top 25% of consumers who use apps most frequently expressed enthusiasm over a range of benefits from their smartphones and apps, including access, information, connectedness and ease.

Nearly two in five U.S. smartphone owners already use their apps to shop at least once a week. Another 36% use apps to shop, but less than once a week.

Across 1,321 large companies, digital leaders (enterprises with above-average competency deploying apps, using data analytics and operating APIs) are 21% more likely to outperform their competition on key market metrics, including margin, revenue, market share and customer satisfaction. Retailers within this sample show the same pattern.