The new research, entitled Mobile & Online Purchases: Cards, Carrier Billing & Third Party Payment Platforms 2015-2020, observed that players such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram had already launched "buy" buttons from their mobile apps. It claimed that such players are also likely to enhance their sales prospects through strategic retailer partnerships, with Twitter already enabling users to link their accounts to Amazon.

The research also argued that online retailers were increasingly seeking to reduce time-to-consumer by launching same-day delivery, while bricks-and-mortar stores now widely offered next-day in-store collection – often charging a premium for this option.

However, the research cautioned that retailers need to deliver a consistency of message, branding and shopping experience across all channels. It argued that integration between in-store and online is also critical if the retailers want to maximise the extent to which that can identify a unique individual's omnichannel shopping habits.

"The key is to ensure that consumers are allowed to choose their own path to purchase rather than have it effectively mandated by channel limitations," says Windsor Holden, report author.

Read Full Article