“The future will be owned by those companies that harness technology to make the consumer shopping experience easy, efficient and fun”. This is the concluding prediction from Nielson’s retail forecast, which has found that by 2015 Smart Phones will be the primary vehicle to engage retail customers.  And this is no surprise to us, given what we found in our iPhone study.

The advantage of the Smart Phone for consumers is that it can deliver personalised messages, and tailored experiences to the individual – in real time. According to Nielson, geographically specific information on price, promotion and product will transform the retail landscape. Price will take a back seat in driving traffic, as retailers contend to differentiate themselves by their digital and social media strategies.

Apps that enrich the shopping experience will be the front-runners in gaining customer loyalty, distinguishing themselves as the brands that make shopping easier. Nielson suggests that by 2015 Smart Phones will manage “everything from household budgets and pantry inventory to tax preparation and filing”. In a world where this technology is present in the most ordinary of chores, retailers that simplify tasks and give consumers informed choices will keep ahead.

In 2010, we are already seeing a dramatic shift in shopping behaviour and customer mindsets – now it’s up to brands and retailers to respond.

It really won’t hurt as much as you think! Nor will it be as bad as you think!

As qual researchers we generally like to keep control. Heaven forbid that our ‘respondents’ would have any control. Oh no!

It’s up to us to ask the questions, not them! And then we tell our clients the answers. Simple.

But what about if we tried a different way? A way where ‘participants’ can ask questions, talk about things that matter to them, as well as discussing things we’d like to talk about. In this scenario we get to hear how they really communicate, what’s important to them and in their lives. We get the context behind the things we want to know on behalf of our clients.

This is where online research communities (MROCs), or insight communities as we like to call them, are so exciting. These communities are less structured than traditional qual methods. In an online community members can upload photos, videos, discussions. They can customize their page to make it look the way they want. They can choose what to be involved in within the community.  In effect, the participants, or members as we call them, are in control.

And it is through giving over control that creates a process of discovery, allowing the unexpected insights to ‘pop up’ like young shoots growing in springtime. These are the real ‘gems’ we are after. Not the ‘ho hum’ bits that we already mostly know because we’ve asked the question before (albeit in slightly different ways).

So, here’s the challenge. Can you take the leap and let go? You never know what you might find on the ‘other side’.

Certainly you will get deeper, richer insights.

Last week was a buzz with all the talk of the new iPhone  4.  What was interesting to read was how much it delivered in terms of the issues current iPhone users whinge about.  Our iPhone community highlighted a number of areas iPhone users would like to see improved.

Firstly the camera.  While the iPhone generally has managed to replace the need for carrying a separate  iPod, diary, and so forth, it was not the case with the camera.  Our iPhone community members told us that the low quality camera meant  they rarely relied on it and certainly did not see it as a replacement for their digital camera.  But an improvement from three to five megapixels with 5x digital zoom and  inbuilt LED flash will certainly make a difference.

“I’m sure the next generation iPhone will have a great camera and that gives you a reason to upgrade.”    Glenn, iPhone community member

What else did our members want to see improved :

• Multi-tasking – again the iPhone 4 will fulfill this requirement
• Screen rotation lock - we got it for iPad but as far as I know not the iPhone still does not readily allow for this.
• Flash Player – doesn’t look like this is going to happen

Will these and other improvements be enough of a reason to upgrade?  Not sure but the latest figures reported in Adnews today show the iPhone is certainly taking the lead in the Smartphone market, which doesn’t surprise us given our findings in our iPhone Insights Community.

Updated 17/06/10:  Going on the strength of pre-orders it seems the iPhone 4 is enough of a reason to upgrade.  According to SmartCompany pre-orders of iPhone hit new record with 600,000 in one day.