Years ago I was predicting that handheld devices were the future. Then came the iPhone and wham the day of the handheld is here and it has brought a new kind of consumer.
True Story, but first let me say that my wife is a pro bracket shopper, she knows how to find a price and where to get it. About a month ago one of my monitors died. I went straight to Best Buy thinking they always have the lower price. You think electronics you think Best Buy, right.
In the store they had a 23 in. monitor for what I thought was a good price. My wife takes out her phone, scans the bar code and a minute later it finds the same monitor for $50.00 less up the hill at Sears. She was able to do this standing right there in the store isle. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the new consumer, armed with a hand held device.
With this latest addition to the “I want it now” tool box a consumer has new power. They can comparison shop right on the spot or locate coupons, find discount codes or geo clues for example and present them right there. With this device a consumer can check movies, restaurant menus, get directions or watch your video while standing on line.
As a retailer I will have to be more aware of my competitions pricing but also their stock levels. It also tells me I can’t wait until my consumer finds my ad in the paper or hears it on the radio. Repetitive advertising is great but consumers still have short memories and still need to be reminded WHEN they are looking for something.
To deal with this your website will have to do double duty or you may need a separate site for mobile applications. Your search optimization will need to be more specialized, but the bottom line is your website, your web presence, has moved off the desktop and you need to keep up.