How Smart Phones Have Changed the Game for Retailers

We live in an age of extremely competitive pricing wars from the retailers we frequent. It’s not always a great thing for the retailers, and for business in general, but we are now fully engulfed in a “we have it cheaper” mentality which Groupon is partly to blame for, and all the other hundreds of copycat websites that have a daily deal or some such other ridiculously low deal.

You almost have to wonder how anyone can make any money when people basically expect things for nothing. However, this type of mentality can create some opportunities for savvy marketers and retailers.  Smart phones really changed the game for retailers in a profound way as well because they allow shoppers to comparison shop – while they are shopping in another store to see if someone else has it cheaper!

Websites like Amazon have benefitted greatly from this model because they are often the lowest price on things like books and other goods. Heck, they basically put Borders out of business because they can offer things like books and media at a much lower cost. And the super saver shipping is just genius.

They make you pay more in goods, but in exchange, you get something that you logically hate paying for because it’s a waste of money – shipping – for free.  Absolute, sheer genius at work there. Wish I would have thought of it

Smart phones allow people to even scan in price tags on items and do an automatic compare to other stores and areas that have the item for a lower price.  I’ve never personally used this function on my iPhone yet, but I know a lot of people that do.  See our past post on Smart Phone Bargain Shopping.

Besides using it for comparison shopping, you can also have coupons like Groupons and Living Social deals right on your phone so you don’t have to go digging through your purse for them, but instead can have them stored on your phone so you don’t have to remember to bring them.

You can even do a quick online search for coupons to various fast food joints and the like if you want to go a certain place to eat but first want  to see if they have any specials or coupons floating around out there.  Heck, you can even comparison shop for used cars on a smart phone!

In short, Smart phones have really changed the retail landscape. Mostly for the better for consumers, not so much for the retailers I’d say.