Retail Industry Technology Expert Speaks to the Convenience of Mobile
September 1, 2023 | Clarkston retail technology project manager Blake Weber was cited by Convenience Store News in their August 2023 Edition, p. 102- 104, for his expertise on how mobile enables on-the-go interaction with retailers — from contactless shopping or fueling, mobile apps or mobile payments, mobile rewards, checking transaction history, and more. He shares his thoughts on how c-store retailers continue to up their game to engage customers on mobile devices. An excerpt of Blakes’s featured quotes from the magazine has been included below, and read the full piece here.
Convenience Store News: What’s Next in Convenience and Fuel Retailing
The Convenience of Mobile
“At a broad level, the mobile phone is this powerful tool in the hands of the shopper and provides retailers with a connection point through all aspects of the shopping journey. Retailers that utilize mobile benefit by driving more customers into the store, driving repeat customers — especially through loyalty — [getting] better engagement and capturing data to provide a more personalized experience.”
“Maybe someone is at home and wants to see what products are available and the pricing, or they can place an order for delivery or pickup, all from sitting on their couch at home. Then at the store, there is a variety of ways a mobile phone can come into play, whether it’s mobile checkout to skip the line, contactless fueling, or interacting with an app to check a receipt or loyalty points.”
“Mobile ordering especially is becoming the standard right now. It’s commonplace to place an order from home or the car and then just go in the store to pick it up.”
“There is so many things coming to enhance the in-store shopping experience, such as using the mobile phone to show the layout of a store, so customers know exactly where to find an item, and even showing them a map to navigate. This is something to watch to see if it grows in popularity, and this functionality can be embedded into an app.”
“If offering something like a mobile checkout, you can even see what items customers have swapped out of the basket, and also use this experience to better optimize store layout.”