An Interview with Bob Clements, Senior Principal, Axsium Group

They’re smart, well-informed, and thanks to the growing popularity of smart phones and other mobile devices, they’re hooked up to the Internet wherever they go.

“This is a game changer for retailers,” said Bob Clements, senior principal at Axsium Group. “The age old assumption that your sales people know more than the customer has been turned upside down. Mobile phones are changing the whole relationship between retailers and their customers.”

Increasingly, retail customers are using mobile devices to guide in-store shopping, allowing them to access the Internet to get product reviews and even compare prices while examining merchandise. Several recent surveys of retail customers showed that one in four Americans, or about 75 million people, are using mobile devices on a daily basis, and 84 percent of those (63 million) use their devices for shopping. These activities include scanning bar codes, price comparisons and accessing product information.

It’s an exciting trend, but Clements said the mobile revolution is both a blessing and a curse, depending on how individual retailers respond.

Sales associates who are not well-informed about product information, or who are unable to answer even the simplest questions, will find they are left in the dust by mobile customers who can access all that information themselves, Clements said. And retailers that do not keep pace with the competitors on pricing for similar products may find that they lose sales as customers perform on-the-spot price comparisons.

Ultimately, this is the kind of negative experience that can damage a retail brand permanently, he said. “You have to remember that now when a customer asks for help, they are coming at you with way more information and background than ever before,” he said. “You have to make adjustments for that new reality.”

On the other hand, retailers that embrace mobile technology and make the appropriate adjustments to their workforce – both in terms of training and staffing levels – will find that they have a huge advantage over less tech-savvy competitors, Clements said.

Many leading retailers have quickly embraced mobile technology, not only to provide more in-store information about products and services, but also to enhance POS systems and shorten line-ups. Retailers have long understood that long lines at the cash wrap can result in lost sales. A recent study by Lawrence, a Tensator Group company, found that four in 10 back-to-school shoppers were likely to abandon their purchases because of long lines.

Many retailers have embraced mobile POS to solve this chronic problem. Apple, for example, has for several years equipped sales associates with mobile POS devices, allowing customers to pay for their purchases without lining up at a counter. Other retailers are experimenting with self-service hand-held devices that allow customers to scan bar codes to get prices and product information.

Clements noted that a large U.S. department store chain recently equipped its sales associates with wireless hand-held wireless devices. If, for example, a customer wanted to purchase a pair of shoes but could not find the right size, the sales associate is equipped to check stock in other stores across the country, find the right size, and then complete a purchase and ship it to the customer’s home, all from the hand-held device.

“In these instances, this is technology that can really save the sale,” Clements said. “This is an example of a sale that would never have happened without the introduction of the right technology.”

However, while the future is bright for the mobile retail experience, there are still some daunting challenges.

It will increasingly important to ensure staff members are familiar with mobile devices and how customers are using them during in-store shopping. However, as exciting as mobile technology is, it cannot replace basic sales skills. Retailers are well advised to undertake a detailed talent audit that can identify skill deficits. This, Clements said, should be done with the knowledge that customers armed with mobile devices present different challenges.

Even though customers will be more self-sufficient, that does not mean they will not need help from sales associates, Clements said. In some instances, mobile-empowered customers may need a higher-level of service than traditional customers, he added.

“You can arm your people with technology, but it won’t do what you want it to do if they are lacking the skills and competencies,” Clements said. “You need to structure training programs and recruitment programs to get the right people out on the floor. Customers are going to be more self-sufficient. That will mean adjusting staffing levels, or redeploying staff to new tasks. There are going to be some very big changes.”

Mobile technology has the potential to re-invent the retail experience, Clements said, but only if retailers plan ahead by adjusting their labor model. “The time is now to ask yourself some important questions,” Clements said. “What is the impact of that mobile-empowered customer on your labor model and how are you going to plan for that?”