Every year, consumers around the U.S. awake from their food comas and head out the door the Friday after Thanksgiving to snag some hot deals at some of the nation’s biggest retailers. But this year’s mad dash brought some key differences from years past.
According to IBM, “Momentum into Black Friday led to an increase in online retail sales of 21.5 percent over 2014, with mobile growing in double digits.”
The key here is “mobile.” IBM explained, “Mobile traffic exceeded desktop, accounting for 57.2 percent of all online traffic, an increase of 15.2 percent over 2014. Mobile sales were also strong, with 36.2 percent of all online sales coming from mobile devices, an increase of nearly 30 percent over last year.”
These facts underscore the necessity for clubs to have ways in which consumers can interact with their businesses on their mobile devices. And there are a couple ways in which to do so, such as mobile apps, or responsive websites. Below are the pros and cons of each.
Mobile App
Mobile apps are downloaded through the Apple or Google Play store, and allow consumers to click a button and be instantly transported to a gym’s online brand. Apps typically allow for increased functionality and interactivity, and you can even send consumers “push” notifications prompting them to sign up for personal training, update their billing account information, or more (as long as they opt-in to this).
The challenge is keeping mobile apps updated, depending on the route in which you take to publish an app. Club Solutions recently hosted a webinar on mobile apps, sponsored by Netpulse, that discusses the different ways you can execute and app, and the pros and cons of each avenue. To view it, please click here: https://clubsolutionsmagazine.com/webinar-apps/.
Responsive Websites
Responsive websites are designed to work on any platform, whether it’s a desktop, iPhone, Android or tablet device. As a result, your website will automatically modify itself so that consumers don’t need to “pinch and zoom” in order to read text on their phones. This is a great option for many businesses, and is typically quite cost effective.
However, responsive websites do have some limitations. Many responsive websites don’t allow you to send “push” notifications to consumers prompting them to read a new blog or take part in a promotion. As a result, consumers must think to go to your website on their own. In addition, functionality and added features on responsive website are typically limited.
There are other options for mobile experiences, but the point is to get you to start thinking about offering a mobile experience of some sort to your consumers, if you don’t already. Do your research and look into the various ways members can interact and purchase from your club on their phones.
Mobile usage is on the rise — this is not something you’ll want to miss the boat on.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
