Mobile strategies can't be trial and error

With retailers in a hurry to try and integrate mobile channels into their strategies, digital specialists are stressing the need for them to get it right first time. Ian Patterson, managing director of Tech Specialist DigiPos Store solutions, says ‘retailers can’t

afford to take a trial and error approach.’

Whilst retailers are trying to move with the times and adopt these new forms of technology to enhance business, often this requires new employees to exclusively build these features, which brings both disruption and teething problems. Challenges they face include researching the market, competitive landscape, finding applicable solutions and working from implementation to roll out. It’s a big load and often is bringing with it ‘trial and error style problems.’

Thus, one solution large retailers are turning to, are third party digital experts and outsourcing the work to limit risk. Even if the long-term plan is to bring the innovation in-house, utilising industry experience up-front to kick-start a project will reap real return. Selecting the company to outsource to is a critical decision, and one which is usually determined by time and budget. The key factor, however, should be down to whether or not the supplier has the capability to fully support and deliver the project. Still in its early stages, there are actually few operating within the mobile arena, who have real on-the-ground experience when it comes to defining and delivering solutions for retailers.

With the recent spate of high street retail closures, such as Jane Norman, it’s evident that the high street is going to have to stretch itself and find innovative measures to retain customers let alone attract new business. Mobile strategies looks like a good starting point.