Mobile Retail's Adoption Drivers And ROI Factors

By Sahir Anand, Aberdeen Group

Mobile retail is not a buzzword anymore but a formidable channel opportunity that cannot be ignored. According to data from Aberdeen's Fast-Track Cross-Channel Gains benchmark report, 57% of retailers are seeking new sales and service channels and opportunities to broaden the revenue pie. Aberdeen surveyed 129 retailers between July and August 2010 to reveal that 38% of respondents are currently at some stage of mobile retail technology or mobile channel adoption compared to 18% at the end of 2008 (see New Age Multichannel Retail report). Another 50% of respondents are looking to adopt this technology (15% within the next year and the rest considering planned adoption at some point in the future).