Motorola Solutions annual holiday study of
surveyed retail associates found that 55 percent believe that this holiday
season's shoppers were better connected to consumer information than to in-store associates.
When
surveyed, shoppers received guidance from a retail associate armed with a
handheld mobile computer, over four in ten (43 percent) reported the
device improved their shopping experience. 87 percent of retailers believe that shoppers
can easily find a better deal, so customer service - aided by access to
real-time information - is "more important than ever."
- 28
percent of store visits ended with an average of $132 unspent due to
abandoned purchases driven by deal-habituated behavior, out-of-stocks,
limited store associate assistance, and long check-out processes. - Shoppers
with smartphones used their phones to influence 39 percent of their
walk-out incidents - 12 percent checked prices at other retailers online and
8 percent checked availability at other stores. - Nearly 25
percent of surveyed shoppers said they would be very likely to take
advantage of a sales associate using a handheld payment terminal to
complete their purchase, compared to only 9 percent who would be very
likely to use their own mobile phone to scan their items and process
payment without assistance.
KEY FACTS:
- 55 percent of surveyed retailers cite shoppers as better connected to information than store associates.
- More
than half of surveyed retail associates voiced that they had little
time to help customers because of pressure to get other tasks completed. - 85
percent of surveyed retail associates agreed that improving in-store
communication between staff and managers would have a significant effect
on customer satisfaction.
Push to enable real-time visibility
- 34
percent of surveyed retail managers cited frustration when alerted that they
need to replenish stock after getting complaints, instead of knowing
ahead of time. - 55 percent of losses due to out-of-stocks could
very likely be recovered with store associate interventions;
specifically, when store associates have the capability to track down
the item and offer a solution, most customers will complete their
purchase with that retailer. - 68 percent of surveyed retail
associates would find the capability to scan barcodes to check inventory
and availability of items requested by customers helpful in a small
mobile device form factor that is deployed to every associate.