Google Advises Retailers to Up their Mobile Offering to Boost In-Store Sales
Google's Head of Mobile for EMEA, Ian Carrington, has stated that if retailers want to boost their store revenues and remain viable to consumers, they need to have a strong mobile offering.
He commented: "High street stores should be focussing on making mobile part of their in-store experience if they are to compete with their online counterparts."
Mr Carrington further advised that shops should be adding mobile services such as customer reviews, opt-in preference-based advertising and discount deals to incentivise customers to buy in-store rather than online.
To highlight the validity of this advice, it has been reported by the BRC that high street sales fell 1.6% last month compared to November 2010.
In addition, technology solutions company QuBit has said that "poor" mobile web strategies mean UK retailers are collectively losing as much as £4bn in revenue.
Google is currently exploring a number of options to ensure that users are able to easily link their desktop browsing and commerce experiences to their mobiles so they can browse product information and shop in-store simultaneously.