Store Front Retailer vs. MPWEC
As the holiday shopping season draws to a close, many store front retailers have likely become acquainted with a new kind of customer who is here to stay—the mobile phone web-enabled customer (MPWEC).
Often unassuming as (s)he walks into the store, the MPWEC may have been, to the unprepared retailer, the holiday season’s worst nightmare. Not only does this customer know exactly what they are looking for (great, right?!), but the customer also knows—and is prepared to show you on their mobile device—just what price they can get the item for elsewhere. This customer is looking to bargain. Pay the asking price? Not this customer.
So what is a retailer to do? Cave to every customer with a mobile phone who wants to make a deal? Not always. Below is a list of tips for retailers to consider when dealing with the MPWEC.
KNOW YOUR MARGIN—When a customer flashes the item (and price thereof) of their desire at you on their phone, be prepared to know if you can match the competitive price and still turn a profit. If you can’t, be honest with the customer about how far you can discount without taking a loss.
KNOW WHICH ONLINE RETAILERS ARE LEGITIMATE—As a MPWEC myself, I recently encountered a jewelry retailer who refused to match my mobile phone price because the discounted price was offered by a non-authorized reseller of the product I was looking to buy. The online retailer could not offer the guarantee of authenticity the store front retailer could—and the jeweler felt strongly I should pay a premium for that, or take my own chance with the non-authorized seller. There are a lot of deep discounting websites out there. As a retailer, make sure you know the popular ones for your industry and determine who is selling real product and who may be selling knock offs or past season merchandise (and trying to pass it off as this season’s!). There is no reason to match these prices—and make sure you let your customer know they are taking a risk by buying from them.
REMEMBER- YOU PROVIDE INSTANT GRATIFICATION THE ONLINE RETAILER CAN’T—Often times your MPWEC threatening to walk out of your store and buy the product online doesn’t really want to do that—they want the instant gratification of having the item in their hands NOW—or they wouldn’t have bothered to come in your store so prepared to bargain. Use this as leverage. Remind the customer that they likely have to pay shipping fees if they buy online—which you should be able to collect as part of the purchase price for them the buy with you—and that they will have to wait if they order online. You may find that many customers are willing to pay a little more than the advertised online price to see and feel their product and get it now.
ACCEPT THE NEW REALITY AND BE PREPARED—Gone are the days when the price in the store was the price, even for the big box retailers. I recently watched a MPWEC negotiate with the store manager at a big box retailer. The MPWEC walked away with a significant discount. Knowing how retailers like that work, I have to assume this big box is prepared for MPWECs and has authorized their store managers to extend some kind of discount to the truly aggressive ones, or the ones with legitimate competitive pricing (ie- from a major store front competitor). No one wants to lose a sale, or more importantly, a long-term customer who may make more purchases with their retailer of choice in the future.
COMPETE YOURSELF—Remember, MPWEC customers aren’t just in your store looking for a bargain. They are certainly at your competitors’ stores doing the same. To this end, it’s critical that you have a website which advertises your best available pricing—and that the site be mobile phone-friendly. For more information on how EGC can help develop a mobile friendly-site for your business, contact EGC Digital today.
