Once upon a time, looking for products and purchasing online had been something quite hard to imagine. No one knew whats is “mobile retail”.

Then, it had turned into a ceremony. Making a cup of tea, switching your desktop computer on, opening the browser, then spending an hour zapping from site to site – not so long ago, this was the customer’s typical e-commerce ritual.

Nowadays, shoppers often reach for their smartphones and tablets when looking for product inspiration and information instead of computers.

Life got faster, so in order to save — or even to kill — time, customers got used to multitasking (including the simultaneous use of different devices) and trying to get the most value out of each moment.

‘Found time’ became very important during the customer journey and a big opportunity for companies trying to connect with these customers.

Instead of sitting in front of a high-resolution big screen with flawless internet connection, people might be browsing on their devices while sitting on a bench, relaxing on the couch or traveling on a bus.

Browsing and purchasing have become more spontaneous, flexible; we can even say they now often happen ‘on the go’.

Consumption trends and online traffic patterns are changing accordingly.

What is the problem with the current mobile experience in retail?

Let’s see some facts:

– 81% of customers are researching products on smartphones.

– 66% of time spent in online retail happens on mobile devices.

So, what do we have here?

Perfect internet connection? Probably not.

Patience to deal with tedious processes, endless clicks and slow experiences? Forget about it.

Alarming news for your company: against all these difficulties, your customers still expect a top customer experience from you on mobile.

Actually, 61% of people have a better opinion of brands that offer a good mobile experience.

However, mobile devices still convert much worse than desktop purchases.

This shows that the current mobile experience offered by most companies is not effective enough to convince and engage online customers.

Simply put, not good enough. This has to be changed.

Innovation: taking the real store experience to mobile retail

We understand the importance – and the potential – of mobile in the customer purchase journey.

And we do not want to change people’s habits.

Whisbi is changing the way people purchase and connect with brands and products online.

It is the only solution in the market that can synchronize a normal phone call with video, co-browsing, chat and tracking, all at once and in real-time.

As part of the unique customer experience, companies can automatically ‘teleport’ online visitors to stores or showrooms in one click, where sales reps can use the camera of smartphones or smart glasses to showcase physical products to web visitors via real-time video.

And now we’re taking this rewarding, immediate, ‘physical’ product experience to all customers, even when they are using their mobile devices.

Imagine a guy lying on the beach during summer vacation, thinking about getting a new family car in the fall.

Lazily browsing on the website of a dealership or automotive company, with one tap, he can ask for a callback by a sales representative at the showroom, who can show them the vehicle of their dreams within a few seconds via video.

As part of the interaction, the sales rep can also book a follow-up appointment for the customer for when they are back home.

In another scenario, it might as well be consulting about kitchen furniture for an upcoming remodeling, looking for a new fridge or upgrading to a better smartphone.

Being able to talk to a product expert and see what the actual products look and work like whilst holding a smartphone in your hand is a revolution for customers — and broadens horizons for retailers.

100% universal customer experience supporting the ‘mobile first’ trend

The best thing about Whisbi is that it has been designed with the vision to be completely universal, accessing all potential customers regardless where they are and what kind of device they are using.

This means that the Whisbi experience can be enjoyed on any device with a browser, even if the customer’s bandwidth is poor. They don’t need to log in anywhere or download anything. It’s all a click — or a tap — away.

What is new about our mobile experience then?

Well, it is adaptive, not simply responsive, so it offers an authentic experience tailored to small screens, ensuring the best usability on mobile — from Call-to-Action buttons to the interactive features.

Why do retailers need to take Whisbi’s new mobile experience to their customers?

Increasing conversion on mobile devices has been a tough nut to crack — until now.

Based on what we’ve learnt from our clients across different categories (e.g. Vodafone, Fiat, Media Markt and many more):

If you can recreate a real store experience 100% online, then the sales conversion you can expect is closer to in-store conversion than to online rates.

With this new experience, you will be able to sell more and better, no matter what kind of device your customers are using.

Covering all possibilities while living up to the demands of ‘omnichannel’ customers are becoming obligatory for retail success, not something that is ‘nice to have’.

That’s where the retail world is heading right now, with or without you. You’d better keep pace.

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Get in touch with our sales manager Torquil Thomson at t.thomson@whisbi.com to learn more or book a live demo.