Online retailers are growing in number fast, with one new niche online buying store launched every week in South Africa. Some are small, some are big, but at least they are online. In the US, brick-and-mortar retailers are already fighting against becoming “œshowrooms“ for customers who then return home to buy the goods online.
But for retailers, the situation is becoming even more dire. And for customers, far better. Right now, you can stand in a South African grocer, for example Woolworths, and by scanning a product‘s barcode, find out its comparitive price in other stores nearby.
This is because of PriceCheck‘s newly launched and improved app, available on most platforms (iOS, Android, Blackberry). “œFifty-percent of consumers are spending more than half of their total shopping time researching products online or using their mobile device. Our Mobile site gets in excess 100 000 visits per month. These numbers are growing, and what we‘ve done is make it easy for even our least tech-savvy users to get the maximum benefit from their mobile devices. By keeping it simple and easy to navigate, we‘ve brought comparison shopping to consumers, right in the store. This app works, and it works really well“, says Andre De Wet, CEO of PriceCheck, shedding light on the decision to increase mobile exposure and awareness.
The app also shows products that may sway buyers at the “œpoint of purchase decision“, such as related goods. In addition to this, it now becomes far more important for stores to all appear on PriceCheck‘s search results. As de Wet mentions, “œThere are no more walls, your product can now appear in any store.“
In effect, not only do retailers have to price products much more carefully, they also need to realise that a form of comparative advertising is creeping in, whether they like it or not.
The question then is, who is this good for? The answer is clear, but not so simple. Customers win all the way with more choice, better accessibility to goods and services and better pricing. Retailers actually win big, by receiving advertising and branding right in the hands of shoppers, wherever they are. This is because the product information is coming up on shoppers‘ phones from their own searches, far more trusted than push-advertising in the retail environment.
South Africa, like most countries, is moving towards using their mobiles far more while shopping. Numerous apps have been launched this year and more are set to follow in 2013. Google South Africa‘s statistics have shown that around 62% of South African smartphone users have used their mobile phones to do a product search on PriceCheck, with an estimated 26% having changed their mind as a result of the information obtained while shopping in-store.
These shopping apps are calling on two trends that are affecting the retail environment globally in various degrees, namely:
1. The mobile device becoming people’s primary source of computing.
2. The merging of the online and physical worlds
It remains to be seen what retailers will do to make sure they are giving customers everything they want. At the recent shop.org conference, Nordstrom VP Jamie Nordstrom warned: “Companies were in control even up until 2000. But now, the customer is in the driver’s seat. If you embrace that, you will thrive. If not, then by 2020, you will not survive.”
Retailers also have to increase efforts at customer engagement in-store. Look out for better pricing, stronger loyalty programs and an increased level of retail service.
PriceCheck’s app is available on all smartphones and has a vast range of items listed nowadays, even flights.
Download the PriceCheck app for Android, iOS, BlackBerry and from the Samsung App Store.
