The retail industry is predicated upon the bidirectional interaction between brand and consumer. In this day and age, such interactions aren’t confined solely to brick-and-mortar stores but a wide range of channels. Increasingly, these channels are of the digital variant. The widespread adoption of mobile devices including smart phones and tablet computers (sales of which are expected to reach 500 million units per year by 2015) is evidence of the imperative for brands to adopt a mobile strategy.
The iPad is among the most popular mobile tools that can be deploy across an enterprise’s business units – especially retail.
Here are several reasons why retailers should consider employing iPads in a presentation capacity:
Interactivity
Native iOS apps are interactive, allow for non-linear navigation, and can more effectively engage consumers at a deeper level than static brochures and billboards can. Deploying iPads in retail can enable customers to interact with brands and learn about its offerings at their own pace- in store or from the comfort of their homes.
Data Capture & Analytics
The iPad can be deployed not only an effective display, but as a data collection device as well. The “Big Data” implications of this are numerous and represent a gold mine for marketing and sales departments across the world to gain a greater insight into consumer preferences and sentiment. Imagine being able to capture metrics such as customer traffic, product popularity (across product lines, collections and variations within), demographics, and the efficacy of different advertising media (images, video, etc) for each and every consumer who interacts with your iPad-equipped kiosk in store. Such metrics can be instantly relayed to HQ and plugged in to your existing CRM and/or ERP.
Efficiency and Savings
Depending on the specific use case, an enterprise iPad deployment makes practical sense within retail organizations for a host of reasons. For one, retailers spend millions upon millions of dollars per year printing and distributing marketing and sales collateral – brochures, catalogs, and promotional materials. Such collateral may be digitized and presented on the iPad to reduce costs – freeing up dollars to be spent on optimization projects elsewhere within the organization. US enterprises spend more than $30 billion per year on printed marketing collateral according to Xerox. Deploying the iPad enterprise reduces needless spend and redefines the retailer- consumer relationship.
Digitizing and mobilizing your sales and marketing collateral is not only sustainable, it makes perfect business sense as well.
