As the omni-channel marketplace continues to evolve, more data is becoming available as to when customers are browsing and shopping. I just came across this article, which estimates that UK shoppers spend £9.3 billion while commuting to and from their daily job.
With shopping malls on the decline and smartphone penetration estimated to be over 70% the time spent idle during the daily commute would naturally turn to shopping. It's unclear as to whether or not the study takes into account sales with mobile attribution - for example a purchase made on a home computer after researching on a mobile device - but the numbers are significant either way. The study was done in partnership with mobile payments company Zapp and their CEO was quick to point out that the checkout process could still be optimized.
“But fishing out your credit or debit card and then tapping in a long sequence of numbers does not represent the ideal checkout experience on a packed train. If commuter commerce is to continue to flourish we need faster, safer mobile payment methods.”How could an omni-channel ready company use this information? Maybe they could hold a flash sale during the hours of the average persons commute or make a specific offer to users on the wifi provided by public transit. The possibilities are limited only by the creativity of the marketing team and a companies ability to deliver on their promise.
