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 3rd 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 [http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk ] and
Jessops [http://www.jessops.com ] 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.
SOURCE Tradedoubler

