NEW YORK – Once viewed as the latest in cutting-edge technology, mobile is now viewed as standard operating procedure for retailers. Mobile retailing’s transition “from momentum to mainstream” has made it an indispensable part of the everyday retail IT landscape, according to Chain Store Age. The impact has been especially significant in three areas:

1. Store Traffic Driver – Mobile’s maturity into a mainstream retail IT platform has developed while retailers have become increasingly aware of the store’s continuing primacy as a driver of revenues. Retailers have increasingly focused their customer engagement and promotional efforts on driving traffic to their stores and there is no better store traffic driver than mobile.
2. Digital Information Provider – Mobile technology also allows retailers to deliver customers digital information that would otherwise be unavailable. For example, retailers can utilize QR codes to extend the information and value provided by out-of-store promotional media, as well as use mobile for a variety of engagement opportunities in-store.
3. Infrastructure Cost Saver – Once the investment in the underlying mobile architecture is made, mobile technology saves retailers considerable amounts of money in several ways, including uses customer devices as a contact point. In addition, the self-service nature of mobile retailing means retailers can often reduce headcount of customer-facing employees, or at least cut back on scheduled work hours.