Consumers are increasingly buying products online in frequent bursts throughout the day in a trend retailers call "snacking," and mobile applications are the reason why. Over time, the snacking trend could prompt strategy changes for online retailers, as the Wall Street Journal reports:
Shopping on a small screen used to be a pain. But as consumers spend more of their days glued to smartphones, retailers are getting savvier with apps that ease browsing, offer rewards, suggest the right products and simplify the purchase to one click.
The so-called appification of shopping promises to radically transform the retail industry by creating new shopping habits, reshaping sales tactics and carving out winners and losers. Instead of placing one big order from a computer, people are increasingly making smaller purchases in short bursts throughout the day on their phones, a phenomenon retailers call “snacking.”
Mobile sales are booming, especially compared with sales gains from desktop computers. Last year, U.S. sales from mobile devices jumped 56% to $49.2 billion, doubling the previous year’s growth, according to comScore. Desktop sales still dwarf mobile, reaching $256.1 billion last year, but annual growth slowed to 8.1% from 12.5%.
The retailers that are succeeding are training customers to think of their smartphones like an all-day impulse aisle. Apps are able to capture data available on handsets and push consumers to buy when they have a spare moment.
But shoppers aren't typically buying more expensive and bulky items such as furniture on their phones, preferring to use their desktops for better-sized images and easier-to-digest comparative pricing, the Journal report adds. And mobile shopping presents retailers with other challenges:
The ease of buying single items instead of building a shopping cart can drive up retailers’ shipping costs. And consumers are more likely to window shop for products but not necessarily buy them.
Analysis: Apps Aren't Everything
There are a few important takeaways to be had from the Journal's report, says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Guy-Frederic Courtin. For one, "while smartphone shopping apps are big there, is still a role for larger formats," whether desktops, laptops or tablets, he says.
Secondly, "as we move towards a more consumer centric shopping experience—aka where and when I want it—it is going to drive up the cost of fulfillment regardless of whether we are doing so via mobile or on a larger format," Courtin adds.
As for the question of snacking, it might be difficult for retailers to untrain consumers now used to shopping this way, but there are other ways they can mitigate the cost of shipping.
"Will some savvy retailers offer the following: You can continue to snack during the day, and if you want stuff shipped seperately, fine, you pay for the shipping costs. Or does a retailer allow you to build a shopping cart through out the day, and then once it reaches critical mass, ship it?"
Reprints
Reprints can be purchased through Constellation Research, Inc. To request official reprints in PDF format, please contact Sales.
