Barclays projects mobile shopping to increase dramatically
Analysts with Barclays said that consumer spending on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices will exceed an astonishing $77 billion annually by 2024.
Currently, research suggests consumers are spending a little more than $14 billion each year while shopping on mobile devices. By 2024, Barclays expects 42% of retail sales to involve a mobile device.
“Online retail was once seen as a threat to brick-and-mortar stores,” said Richard Lowe, managing director and head of retail and wholesale at Barclays. “However, retailers are starting to discover that mobile technology doesn’t just enable them to compete in the same space as pure-play competitors but also provides an opportunity to increase sales through stores.”
In framing the estimates, Barclays reps suggest that a partial trend driver is targeted and location-specific in-store marketing, which includes augmented reality and “click and collect” services that pair a mobile transaction with an in-store pickup. Specific to tablets, Barclays reports that the number of tablet users has doubled each year for the past two years.
Barclays’ market research found that 57% of consumers surveyed thought retail locations should offer free Wi-Fi; 42% reported that they regularly seek out free Wi-Fi hot spots. Despite those consumer sentiments, only 14% of retailers offer in-store Wi-Fi, according to Barclays.
“Getting consumers into stores is challenging enough, but once they are there it is important that retailers can offer the technology-driven services that consumers now demand,” Lowe said. “Wi-Fi is a basic commodity but its very presence and the services retailers can deliver through it clearly has an important part to play in high-street sales.”
