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1. Selling Smartphones:
Youth Lead the Multi-
Channel Retail Experience
“Every sofa, bus, train is a shop front as people are looking at their phones.”
- CEO of mobile phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, Andrew Harrison
The future customer journey will be defined by how youth interact with retail
today. If retailers want to remain relevant in a multi-channel world, they need
to engage these change agents.
Retail: it’s not just about the store anymore.
Find the most relevant insights on youth mobile marketing: http://www.mobileYouth.org

2. The store is a pitstop in the customer’s journey. The modern customer’s
journey isn’t linear like it used to be. Rather than a journey punctuated by a
definable end-point, it’s a process involving multiple consultations with peers
and online reviews. Youth are calling their peers for advice and checking
video reviews on their smartphones while in store. Retailers need to build
around youth behavior and redefine how they deliver this experience.
Meeting customer expectations is no longer enough
People don’t buy alone: shopping is a social process.
Churn, brand and purchase decisions don’t happen in isolation but as
the result of long term consultation and influence. 66% of youth
purchase handsets based on what their peers not what brands or ad
agencies said (source The Mobile Youth Report). 58% of youth call
friends or family to consult about their purchase (source Pew). The end-
to-end retail experience plays a crucial role in defining which brands
youth recommend and ultimately buy.
Youth are the key market influencers, shaping demand for new handsets
across all markets but winning youth means going beyond store
displays, promotions and advertising. What youth seek today is a retail
experience that exceeds expectations.
The difference in satisfaction levels between the best and worst retailers
according to the ACSI is only a factor of 20% (between Nordstrom &
Walmart). Whereas the difference in recommendation between the best
and worst retailers based on NPS data is a factor of 300%. Amazon’s
ranks #1 in terms of customer experience and NPS because it doesn’t
focus on meeting expectations and satisfying customers but in delivering
an experience that exceeds both and drives recommendation.
Going Multi-channel
Retailers need to redefine their offering from being a destination for the
purchase process to being a partner that supports it.
Find the most relevant insights on youth mobile marketing: http://www.mobileYouth.org

3. Retailers need to provide a seamless multichannel experience that
connects the online and offline journey. Data shows that only 13% of
mobile phones are sold online, whereas 70% of purchases began online
(source Carphone Warehouse). Data from the 2013 Mobile Youth Report
shows that 65% of the purchases that started online began on a
smartphone. Half of all searches for the iPhone 5 on the CPW site, for
example, were made from the mobile phone.
This means that online retail isn’t about selling phones but about
curating the customer journey. While 4 mobile phones are sold in the
high street for every 1 sold online, offline sales are heavily dependent on
the online component.
Traditional offline retailers face a significant online challenge from 2
areas:
1) Showrooming:
The growth in customer showrooming behavior popular with youth
shows that retailers not geared towards a multi-channel delivery end
up becoming the physical front end for online competitors. Youth often
research products in store before taking purchases online, both to
check product reviews and to compare prices. According to latest data
from Pew Research, 50% youth match prices online and 56% look up
reviews on their mobile phone while in store compared to 27% and
26% respectively for older customers.
2) Upstart Advantage:
New entrants have been able to redefine retail from the bottom up to
better suit the modern customer. Retailers geared towards multi-
channel delivery, like Apple, are able to turn showrooms into a positive
brand experience and a generator of both recommendation and
revenue. Some retailers have improved their customer engagement
practices, increasing showrooming and in-store purchases. In recent
ACSI surveys, Apple ranked #2 (behind Amazon) in terms of customer
satisfaction. Apple’s ability to re-engineer retail beyond traditional
confines has enabled it to become the most profitable retailer per
square foot in the US ($6000/sqft vs $3000 next placed retailer
Tiffanys). Apple understands that retail isn’t just about selling boxes
but supporting the customer in the discovery and education process.
Find the most relevant insights on youth mobile marketing: http://www.mobileYouth.org

4. “There’s no better place to discover, explore and learn about our
products than in retail. It’s the retail experience where you walk in and
you instantly realize this store is not here for the purpose of selling. It’s
here for the purpose of serving. I’m not even sure “store” is the right
word anymore. They’ve taken on a role much broader than that. They
are the face of Apple for almost all of our customers.” - Tim Cook, Apple
CEO
Find out more:
The 2013 mobileYouth Report
Find the most relevant insights on youth mobile marketing: http://www.mobileYouth.org