How Does Mobilegeddon Affect Retailers?
When retail management looks at mobile marketing, the focus is usually on customer relations through instant messaging solutions rather than Google algorithms. But the recent Google mobile-friendly update caused so much concern among webmasters that it was dubbed “mobilegeddon”. The actual effects of the update aren’t completely seen yet, and some are comparing mobilegeddon to the non-event of Y2K.
It could be argued that Y2K was a non-event because tech people did what they needed to do to prevent issues. Mobilegeddon is similar because the threat of the update caused businesses to finally move to becoming mobile-friendly and started to use instant messaging solutions.
Does this aspect of mobile marketing really affect retailers?
Shoppers Use Mobile
In short, yes. Yes, it does. Having a mobile-friendly site for your retail business means that you can be found by shoppers looking for what you sell. If your customers are online, they are increasingly online using a mobile device. Retail sites need to be mobile-friendly because customers demand it, and Google is just trying to maintain its position as top dog in the search engine pile by giving users what they look for.
Since today’s retail customer will interact with your business via many channels, it makes sense to ensure every channel’s viability.
Meet Shoppers Where They Are At
ChainDrive’s Mobile Marketing meets shoppers where they are at by using instant messaging solutions – SMS text message technology to instantly engage “consumers in motion” with targeted marketing campaigns. Using their preferred device to interact with customers who have asked to receive in-store discounts, for instance, gives consumers what they want — personalized benefits for being loyal.
Mobilegeddon was a recognition of the essential nature of mobile marketing today. In that way, it does affect retailers because shoppers have smartphones and they aren’t afraid to use them.