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Responsive design, crosschannel conversions key to 2013 mobile retail success

PALM DESERT, CA ? Developing end-to-end mobile strategies that tap into the different intents that consumers have on multiple devices is a big focus for retailers this year, according to experts at eTail West.

Mobile Marketer?s Lauren Johnson and Kristina Mayne asked exhibitors at the conference, ?What are your retail clients? plans for mobile in 2013?? Here is what some had to say.

Larry Freed, president/CEO of ForeSee, Ann Arbor, MI
Retailers are focusing on mobile customer service and realizing that success needs to be measured by the experience versus only the commerce element.

Jason Klein, director of marketing communications at StrongMail, Redwood City, CA
One is making sure that retail emails are optimized and the other is following through so that when you click on a link in an email it directs to a mobile site so that there is no disconnect.

Solomon Lichter, director of business development at 5th Finger, San Francisco
We see our clients reinvesting in mobile Web technology ? specifically mobile 3.0 ? with placing m.dot, proxy-based mobile solutions and implementing responsive Web design.

Christopher Harris, account executive at Akamai, Cambridge, MA
We envision everyone using mobile ? it is a trend that is going to be significant and we will see all traffic coming from mobile soon. We focus on making the mobile experience comparable to the Web experience.

Amie Hutton Crawford, client development strategy lead at iProspect, Boston
We will see an uptick in mobile spend. Omni is going to be the word of the year, and if retailers cannot keep up they will be left out.

Jay Shields, principal retail solution consultant at Oracle Retail, Boston
From our perspective, we see retailers with bricks-and-mortar stores adopting ecommerce into stores so that you get the same level of customer service. From a retail perspective, there is a huge focus on in-store applications that give the same white-glove experience that consumers get online at home.

Chris Gordon, regional sales manager at BlueHornet Networks, San Diego, CA
This is a big year for leveraging responsive  design ? it is just being tested and used in the email  space. Retailers are segmenting out their mobile users and targeting them with unique messages.

Brian Deagan, cofounder/CEO of Knotice, Akron, OH
I would say the biggest challenge is figuring out how to deal with iOS. Tablets are the fastest growing device in civilization but it only accepts first-party cookies. Third-party cookies are not going away, and if you can?t track it, marketers need to figure it out.

Joe Devine, solutions engineer at Listrak, Lancaster, PA
When you look at the stats and how many people engage, close to 30 percent of emails are being opened on mobile devices, so emails have to look good and it has to function. Some of the more passive ways to help is making sure that buttons are engaging and functioning.

Rachel Carson, customer success associate at ReadyPulse, Bellevue, WA
Bringing reviews to mobile is always a harder user experience, but it is what we have heard is important. Figuring out the most innovative way to display those reviews is key.

Scott Wasserman, founder/chief technology officer at Artisan Mobile, Philadelphia
We are seeing a migration from HTML5 into native apps that include some Web capabilities. Retailers are starting to utilize mobile to acquire and retain customers.

Scott Ward, sales consultant at July Systems, New York
Monetizing and pushing out content will be a priority this year. 2013 is about mobile-first, but from my perspective retailers are not using mobile. If you build the channel and optimize it, people will come and they will convert.

Maria Tatone, senior strategic marketing consultant at Visa Inc., San Franciscio
Retailers want to provide a seamless experience and want to make mobile as easy as possible. The longer it takes to make a payment, the quicker a consumer is to abandon the cart.

Greg Schmitzer, CEO of Mad Mobile, Tampa, FL
I think retailers are focused on two things this year. One is understanding the various touch points and how consumers interact with them. The other is figuring out how to acquire mobile search traffic and convert that traffic.