• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, February 3, 2015

While the masses of consumers may not yet see mobile payments as any great advantage, many retailers are on the other side.

More than three quarters (78%) of retailers see mobile sales as being faster than their traditional point of sales systems, based on a recent study.

On yet another side, about half (51%) of these same retailers do not see mobile sales as being more secure than traditional payment methods, according to the research.

The benchmark report, Mobile Retail Finds New Purpose by Retail Systems Research, is based on a survey of 99 retail senior executives, managers and staff with 70% of those in companies with $1 billion or more annual revenue.

Almost all (88%) retailers say the purpose of their mobile strategy is to drive shoppers to the store.

In terms of what mobile customer capabilities retailers have tested or implemented, finding stores and searching products are at the top of the list while capabilities around loyalty and personalized content are at the bottom. Here’s are the capabilities tested or deployed:

• 61% -- Store locator
• 49% -- Search for and select merchandise
• 45% -- Check price or availability
• 44% -- Check order status
• 38% -- Access product ratings and reviews
• 36% -- Receive, redeem coupons and offers
• 34% -- Purchase and/or redeem gift cards
• 34% -- Create a shopping list
• 28% -- Check loyalty status
• 21% -- Deliver personalized, contextually relevant content via mobile

One of the most interesting findings in the RSR study is the view of how mobile should be used by employees. Almost all (93%) retailers say that mobile will help their employees meet customer service expectations.

A large majority (80%) of retailers also say that consumers will eventually accept in-store tracking on their mobile device.

And then there are the roadblocks.

The three top issues the retailers see inhibiting their mobile advancement are budgeting and ROI challenges (59%), not enough resources to manage all opportunities (48%) and difficulty getting IT resources for projects.

Closing the gaps are often the biggest mobile challenges.

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