Developing Winning iPhone Apps, Part 2 - Retailers

Apps are ever growing and won't stop here. Retailers that are serious about reaching out to their customers must consider developing an app. Retailers should focus on apps that are a mix of entertainment and selling. A calorie counter/shopping list creator is an excellent idea for grocers. I think apps are going to get bigger. Even Blackberry has its own apps store.

This is a great opportunity for retailers to market themselves to different buying groups.

Doron Levy, President, TheMortgageMachine.ca

Interactive apps are also useful for taking the pulse of the customer--if the retailer has tools to aggregate the data.

There are some use cases that show incremental sales associated with--say--offering a discount to friends and family of Twitter follows...but in general, this is all about the brand. And understanding the customer's perception of the brand.

Paula Rosenblum, Managing Partner, RSR Research

Retailers need to get in the app game, with both Apple and Google/Android. If the purpose of the app is to sell, it should offer consumers an easy process to quickly get the information they need to make a purchase decision, buy, and check out. If the purpose of the app is to build the retailer's brand, the app should be fun and creative. Finally, the retailer must let consumers know that they have apps available.

Just as when they first embraced the Internet, retailers need to support their apps with mentions on bags, sales receipts, advertising, etc. Apps, in one form or another, are here to stay. Retailers need to get in the game.

Max Goldberg, Founding Partner, The Radical Clarity Group

Is anyone discussing app overload? The market for iPhones is far from maximum penetration. But at some point, users get tired of being provided with content that is nothing more than a commercial. Going forward, there's going to be a huge shakeout among developers--the same way there has been in other industries. There still needs to be a balance between self-serving promotion and real consumer benefits.

Len Lewis, President, Lewis Communications, Inc.

Just as being tied to a computer throughout the day, working e-mail, missing out on social contact with others, altering body movements/visual looks, etc, can lead to BOREDOM, having an excess number of apps to consider each day, could lead to a turnoff of the consumer.

Make the message fun, entertaining, and stimulating, or the consumer will quickly shift away.

Roger Saunders, Managing Director, PROSPER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT / BIGinsight

Retailers (and consultants, and restaurants and...) should ensure the iPhone compatibility of their websites before venturing into gee whiz apps. When I'm ready to Net buy on the fly, I don't think "I wonder if there's an app for that?" I go straight to the company's site. When I find a completely unnavigable mess, I ditch. Baby steps, baby steps....

Carol Spieckerman, President, newmarketbuilders

I see how my 20-something students use their iPhones and alternatives. They are tools. They are not toys. They are part of their everyday lives. They are not a whim. Even when sitting in front of their computers, they will use certain apps to get quick answers.

A retailer's app that is developed just "to get in the game" is a waste of time and expense. If the retailer is deciding to make a decision on building a brand app or a selling app, they are making a mistake. The retailers must make their apps a tool for the user. That may very well build brand exposure or sell product, but if it is self-serving and not a useful tool, it will be among the 75,000 apps that will rarely be used.

Gene Detroyer, Professor, Entrepreneur, Adviser, Consultant, Independent

These apps are part of what I refer to as the second retail revolution. The first happened 100 years ago when self-service assumed such a large role in retailing. Self-service literally means, sell yourself. The fact is that personal selling disappeared, largely, from the retail space, with the advent of self-service--and to the extent that self-service dominates any particular class of trade.

There are ways to introduce "personal" selling back into retail without all the technology but the technology will ultimately lead to the total "Amazonification" of retail. That is, the "personal" selling done by Amazon online, will show up in the retail space with shoppers carrying their own personal online devices into the stores. This will totally blur the line between online and offline retailing. But, more importantly, it will give every seller potential access to the shopper both inside and outside the store.

I'll comment further on the implications of brands (as well as retailers) being able to have a conversation with THEIR customers, inside stores, without any mediation or interference from the retailer, in the second RW discussion topic today--Amazon vs. Walmart.

Herb Sorensen, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor TNS Global Retail & Shopper, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute

Apps are everywhere, which is both good and bad. Good because there's lot of interest from consumers, brands and retailers; bad because we don't yet know where this is going to lead, and just jumping on the bandwagon isn't necessarily the right thing to do. A poor execution now could close the door to future attempts.

Retail apps make a lot of sense, as long as they add value to the shopper's life. Don't assume that just having an app puts you in the game. As with most technology, we often get lost in the "what," and forget the "why." How will this app help my shopper? What value does it add? Once the novelty wears off, is this useful in the real world?

Beyond that, there's the whole question--for another day--of whether an app is right. Sure, the iPhone is hot, but what about Blackberry, Palm, and so on? Why not a mobile-enabled website that connects me to what I can do online at my desk, or on any other platform?

Bottom line: we need to know a lot more about if/how shoppers will engage with mobile devices in their daily tasks, and what tools they will want to help them. Apps are not a silver bullet solution; they pose more questions than they answer.

Jeff Weidauer, VP Marketing, Vestcom International, Inc.

At the moment the big differentiator is whether a retailer has an mobile app or not. However, that will change; retail apps will be ubiquitous and the differentiator will become the quality and functionality of the app. Do consumers really like it and use it?

Remember when everyone rushed to develop a website just to say they had a website?

As far as branding versus sales, I think it depends on your objectives, your category and your brand positioning. Both are achievable through the use of mobile applications. Too often, new technology gets played with outside the context of the overarching marketing and branding plan. They need to be integrated from the start.

I think the best thing for all retailers to do is listen to, learn, and benchmark the successes and failures of other companies venturing into the mobile market. Develop a solid position on how mobile can support your business objectives and then do it right.

Doug Stephens, President, Retail Prophet

Retailers need to have a sound digital strategy before they create a "me-too" app for mobile consumers. Just as in the early days of the web, there are daily improvements with functionality and mobile commerce that are raising consumers' expectations of what a branded app can provide. Whether the app is only for branding or can actually enable commerce depends on the category and the consumer's comfort and desire for the transaction.

In the end, both types of apps should be judged by their contributions to the bottom line. A rush to market without a clear consumer benefit will be a detriment to any brand.

John Bajorek, Executive Director of Digital Services, WD Partners

It does not take a mammoth investment for a retailer who has already established an online presence to develop an app for mobile devices. But just as Gene Detroyer pointed out, if the attitude is just about getting into the game, it would probably end up to be one of those 75,000 applications which are never used.

Just as retailers have striven to make their online presence successful, they need to replicate a similar model on mobile devices, keeping in mind the complexities of a smaller device and the connection it makes with the customer.

After the dotcom doom in 2000, businesses understood that it's not just about having a website out there; it needs to have more meat--a strong back-end business process, a strong supply chain, and a sustainable business model. Much in a similar way, retailers now need to innovate for their smart phone presence, explore new ways of delivery, explore new business models and how the retail brand could be a part of the customer's everyday life.

Shilpa Rao, Retail Consultant, Tata Consultancy Services