How To Help Your Merchant IT Clients With Their Mobile Strategies

By Ally Kutz, contributing writer

In today’s world, people are more connected to their mobile devices than ever before. For your clients, this means trying to keep up with ways to engage customers while enhancing the customer experience.

Matt Pillar, editor-in-chief for Integrated Solutions for Retailers, says, “[Smartphones] have become an extension of ourselves. And as it relates to retail, the instant, anytime, virtually anywhere access to product and price information they enable has made consumers far better equipped with information than retail store associates are.”

According to the CFI Group’s 2014 Retail Satisfaction Barometer, mobile usage during shopping trips jumped 20 percent from 2013 to 2014, with application usage becoming more widespread across the areas of price comparison, coupons, and product reviews and information.

IT solutions providers need to ensure your merchant clients’ infrastructure can support mobile device use, as well as to make sure your clients have the right solutions that can engage shoppers. Solutions that engage, as well as enhance the shopping experience include 2D bar code labels on both shelves and products that customers can scan for product information and technology that accepts mobile wallet payments and loyalty card information. Your clients may also want to deliver offers based on a shopper’s location or a map to help with store navigation — perhaps also integrated with special offers.

To engage customers outside of the store, your clients may want to integrate mobile-optimized websites, store locators, and digital coupons and advertising.

Enhancing customer experience is a top priority for your clients. “Resellers who can help retailers meet these new shopper expectations while simultaneously satisfying the need of the merchant to attract and retain customers will be most successful,” says Randy Clark, senior vice president of marketing for Vantiv. “It’s not about software, technology, or developer tools. It’s about helping merchants grow their businesses by better servicing and engaging their customers at the point of sale, whether that is at a traditional POS or in-store remote mobile payment. We’re in the business of enabling better relationships and experiences.”