Smartphones can Save the High Street, Tradedoubler Study Shows

LONDON, October 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Four in ten mobile searches lead to a purchase in-store

With the high street as we know it under threat of extinction, according to some forecasters, retailers need to fight back by incorporating mobile into the heart of their marketing strategies, says a new report by Tradedoubler, the performance marketing and technology firm.  

The report, which is based on Tradedoubler's research among 2,000 smartphone users in Europe^[i], shows that 38 per cent of people who research a product on their mobile phone will then go into a shop to buy it.  47 per cent go on to complete their purchase on a PC, 25 per cent on their mobile and 7 per cent on a tablet. The Tradedoubler white paper is available for download from October 3^rd from 10.00am, http://www.tradedoubler.com/shopping-on-mobile

The report reveals that smartphone use while in-store could also mean lost business for retailers that lack an effective mobile customer engagement strategy. The 'showrooming' phenomenon is where shoppers first visit stores to look at products, but then turn to their mobile phones in order to find the best price, completing the purchase online with a competitor. This behaviour was revealed in the survey when 42 per cent of those who said they had used their mobiles in a shop revealed they had used it to track down a better deal elsewhere.

"Much has been written about mobile representing a potential nightmare scenario for high street retailers," said Dan Cohen, Market Unit Leader, Tradedoubler, "but our study shows that the opposite can be true as long as retailers are prepared to harness the potential of mobile, and not be afraid of closing a sale through different channels.  We're finding that mobile search can be a tremendous catalyst to driving consumers onto the high street."

The report recommends that retailers looking to take advantage of mobile should adopt a seamless approach across online and off-line channels, reinforced by special daily deals, voucher codes, mobile-optimised websites and tracked affiliate programmes.

The study found that many shoppers would welcome such additional functionality, with 35 per cent saying they want to use vouchers and 56 per cent welcoming location-based offers, although currently only 16 per cent of users receive them.  

"The world of retail is changing," added Cohen. "Technology is transforming the way we search for and buy products. Apps and smartphones are leading the way, driving consumer behaviour that demands an always on, multi-touch, multi-channel response from retailers.  Retailers who fail to embrace this will quickly be left behind."

Tradedoubler has embraced the changes in technology that are driving new consumer behaviour and works with clients such as The Body Shop and Jessops to create integrated campaigns that can drive purchase on mobile, but also incentivise

consumers to 'check-in' at their high street stores and redeem special discount vouchers to increase footfall and the potential for incremental sales.

Tradedoubler was the first pan-European network to offer an integrated e-commerce and m-commerce affiliate offering to help advertisers extend online programmes to users on mobile devices. It followed up at the beginning of this year with the launch of Application Download Tracking (ADT) for iOS and Android which enables companies to measure the ROI on App downloads.

Tradedoubler has an award-winning publisher network and with its ability to accurately record whether a sale was generated by an affiliate's PC site, mobile site or App, it has the technology to ensure that publishers are accurately rewarded and that advertisers can analyse the success of individual elements of their cross-channel marketing campaigns.

About Tradedoubler

Tradedoubler is an international leader in performance-based digital marketing and technology. Founded in Sweden in 1999, Tradedoubler pioneered affiliate marketing in Europe and remains the most successful pan-European affiliate marketing company, combining strategic international insight with detailed in-country expertise. It helps 2,000 advertisers achieve their business goals through its high quality affiliate network of 140,000 publishers and was the first to offer an integrated e- and m-commerce offering to help advertisers extend their online programmes to users on mobile devices. 

Tradedoubler is committed to close collaboration with each customer, helping them to generate revenue and succeed on a national and international scale. Among Tradedoubler's advertisers are American Express, ClubMed, Dell, Disney, Expedia and CDON. The share is listed on Nasdaq OMX on the Stockholm Exchange.

i. For the study, more than 2,000 smartphone users were surveyed in Germany, Sweden, France and UK.