Retailers and Consumers Prefer the Mobile Retail Experience: Clickatell Report

Clickatell, the Chat Commerce and business messaging leader, announced the results of its latest Chat Commerce Trends Report: Retail Edition, which reveals new findings about how today’s consumers prefer to communicate and make purchases with retail companies through mobile and chat messaging conversations. The report, which fielded responses from over 1,000 participants, found that 95% of customers now make retail purchases on their smartphones and 78% of consumers want to use mobile messaging with retail companies for convenience. 

To better understand how consumers communicate with retail brands, Clickatell’s new research found considerable interest in personalized and convenient commerce experiences through mobile messaging conversations. As global retailers head into the holiday season and shift strategies to handle changing consumer shopping habits, brands are examining how rich, mobile-first commerce experiences can help attract customer loyalty. The Chat Commerce Trends Report: Retail Edition found that 69% of participants want to receive order updates via mobile message, 52% would like to use mobile messaging to track loyalty benefits or inquire about loyalty programs and 47% would like to use mobile messaging to connect with a customer service agent. Younger generations have the highest interest in using mobile messaging with a retail brand, specifically 92% of Gen Z and 95% of Millennials.

The report also highlights a distinct opportunity to offer personalized deals and promotions through mobile channels, as consumers continue to grow cautious of high costs during this upcoming holiday season. In fact, 51% of consumers want access to special offers via mobile messaging and 81% of consumers are more likely to purchase an item that is promoted through an SMS link than through an email. Brands have the opportunity to allow consumers to browse, shop, access personalized deals and track orders all on their mobile devices through a value-rich, mobile-first commerce experience.

Additional key findings include:

The next wave of commerce is building relationships with consumers on their mobile phones

Younger generations are mobile-first:

• 77% of Millennials and Gen Z want to be able to track a delivery through personalized mobile messaging
• 86% of consumers are interested in a personalized experience with a retail company, especially millennials (92%) and Gen Z (90%)

Consumers are eager to track packages and orders:

• 48% of consumers want to receive shipping and order updates via mobile messaging, which is higher than the desire to receive personalized promotions (13%), information about a product (10%) or connect with a live agent (10%). 
• Three-quarters (75%) of consumers want to track a delivery through a personalized mobile messaging link and 69% of consumers would like to receive order updates via mobile messaging channels.

High demand for loyalty programs and deals via mobile:

• 51% of consumers want access to special offers via personalized mobile messaging and 46% of consumers want to receive personalized promotions for things like last-minute deals or alerts when new offerings or products become available
• 52% of consumers would like the ability to track and redeem loyalty benefits or ask about loyalty programs through mobile channels

Mobile payment options are on the rise:

• Consumers are most likely to enter credit card details (61%) or use PayPal (57%) to make a retail purchase on their smartphone. Apple Pay is also increasingly popular (23% prefer this method)
• The majority of consumers (95%) make retail purchases on their smartphone
• 27% would make a payment via a secure payments link

The results indicate an opportunity for retail companies to engage with consumers this holiday season through their preferred messaging channels, considering a majority of consumers want to communicate with brands across the entire shopping lifecycle. For retail brands, the next wave of commerce is building relationships with consumers in the same way they communicate with friends or family every day: on their mobile phones. At Clickatell, we’re enabling retail brands to enhance and personalize customer engagement through mobile channels to create this rich commerce experience.

Pieter de Villiers, CEO and Co-Founder, Clickatell