Retailers remain prudent in their financial investments when it comes to mobile objectives, showing tempered future plans for spending on mobile and tablet initiatives despite the industry buzz.
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According to the 2012 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) State Of Retailing Online survey, 50% of retailers surveyed say they spent less than $100,000 on smartphone investments in 2011, and 74% spent the same on tablet initiatives.
One year later, those numbers remain conservative, though companies are indicating a desire to grow their investments in tablet initiatives; on average retailers plan to invest $207K in 2012, compared to an average of $55,000 spent in 2011.
Forrester’s “The State Of Retailing Online” research series provides eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals with annual industry benchmarks of marketing and business investment and activities.
The survey did find, however, that more retailers have entered the playing field over the last year. In fiscal year 2011, 18% of those surveyed say their company made no investment in tablet initiatives and 14% say the same for smartphone initiatives; in 2012 only nine% of companies say they will make no investments for tablet or smartphones.
As part of their mobile investments, and in addition to the consumer-facing technologies that retailers are leveraging, retailers are also focusing on in-store technologies such as mobile point-of-sale, and perfecting site optimization features for smartphone and tablet toting shoppers.
According to the survey, 45% of companies have already or are planning to implement e-Receipts in their stores in the next two years, and more than half (57%) say they have or will have mobile point-of-sale options for their stores within the next two years.
With the majority of retailers’ web traffic coming from web browsers, even when a mobile app exists and is promoted, retailers are focusing on mobile site optimization features as a more cost-effective solution than building apps. Six in 10 (60%) companies surveyed say they have a special mobile site that is optimized for web browsers.
When asked what their company’s greatest internal challenges are as they relate to deploying and managing their mobile initiatives, the answers run deep. Six in 10 (60%) say their business objectives for mobile initiatives are unclear and another four in 10 (40%) say a lack of experience in other areas such as designing for smartphone and tablet formats are presenting challenges. Additionally, 36% say obtaining adequate budget for mobile initiatives, including staff, is a top concern.