LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE ASIA EXPO 2012: Retailers need to do more to embrace the mobile opportunity, says Australian-based mobile technology company Tigerspike.

“Progress in mobile is still very much in its infancy if you look at retailers on a global scale,” said Tigerspike’s Asia-Pacific MD Alex Burke in an interview with Mobile Asia Daily ahead of this conference appearance this week. “Most retailers do not have any budget allocated for the mobile channel and internal teams are still working out the right approach to deliver real return on investment."

“A lot of companies in retail are still working out how best to work with their older legacy technology systems to extend their services to the mobile channel.  Without real-time product and inventory data it’s very difficult for retailers to deliver real value,” he added.  

According to figures from Tigerspike, 94 percent of Australian consumers have researched a product on a personal media device prior to purchase; 62 percent have researched at home, 34 percent “on the go” and only 20 percent actually in store. 

“From a marketing perspective retailers are also focused still on the traditional media channels, print and television, to market their services,” says Burke. “The value proposition of mobile being a real-time, localised and personalised channel for communication has still to be realised.”

Among the challenges faced by retailers looking to exploit this space are security concerns around purchasing online and data accuracy, Burke says.