Stamford Interactive Report: 85% of Australian Retailers Fail to Optimise for Mobile

• Tweet

A new report has highlighted a wide-scale failure to adopt the mobile channel, with 85% of Australian retailers lacking an effective m-commerce strategy.

A new report from Stamford Interactive has identified that the growth of the Australian online retail sector is being hindered by a failure to embrace mobile commerce. The report found that 85% of the 100 retailers surveyed did not have a smartphone-friendly website and only 7 of the 15 that did allowed customers to purchase products via mobile. Worryingly, only 2% of participating retailers offered the calibre of mobile experience demanded by customers.

The study also discovered that retailers were failing to capitalise on the distinct advantages of mobile apps and m-commerce enabled websites with only 30% offering an iPhone app, 15% operating a mobile website and just 5% using both mediums to engage customers.

The research examined the mobile commerce strategies of leading Australian retailers such as Jeanswest, Target, Woolworths and Bing Lee and issues a call to arms for the industry to take the channel seriously.

“Australian retailers are already at risk from the highly engaging customer experiences and competitive prices offered by international retailers. Ignoring the wave of m-commerce adoption in Australia is likely to be another blow to Australian retailers, as consumers will simply choose to shop at international sites that offer a great mobile customer experience,” said Lisa Wade, Director at Stamford Interactive.

“As a first step, retailers who are keen to develop an m-commerce strategy should start by ensuring their current website renders well on a smartphone or other mobile device. Then they can start implementing more sophisticated strategies.”

Article by Neha Kale

Neha is a writer and editor for The Media Pad, publisher of Power Retail. She has a background in business, arts and film journalism and an interest in new media and digital strategy. She is looking forward to exploring how retailers are impacted by the online space for Power Retail. Neha is a magazine junkie whose other addictions include coffee, travel and live music. She likes to run but has a long-time allergy to team sports.

One Comment

• • 
  • Mark Schroeder
  • 29th September

  Although when a company with a vested interest releases survey findings I’m often suspiciouos, I have no reason to doubt the general thrust of this. In fact I think you could extrapolate the headline nyumber further: 85% of Australian retailers would be using no customer-facing communications technology of any kind. That’s certainly my experience.

  There’s a long road ahead for those retailers who realise how far behind they have fallen and how critical it is to catch up with their customers’ new requirements.

  Reply