As reported by Mobile Marketer, mobile audience media company JiWire released a study outlining an increase of people accessing the Internet via their handsets. A growing majority of mobile users are shopping and browsing the internet outside their homes and that got me thinking: should a brick and mortar store offer you free internet access?
I’m guessing most retailers would answer with a “no”. Why? Comparison shopping. I myself have been at a Costco with a DVD in hand and used my iPhone to check if it was cheaper at Future Shop or Best Buy. Granted, it was a labourious process; checking prices over a 3G network on non-mobile optimized websites is simply annoying. But what if the store I’m at makes this process easy?
Radical, I know. You’re inviting me to check prices at a competitor? And make it easy?
But what if that company is confident enough in its pricing and focused on something else: like a great customer experience? And what if they can add more value by my being there—right now? Something like the ability to scan a product and send me to a price comparison chart of their own. How would this affect your purchase decision?
