It’s a phone, a mobile computer and now, a shopping assistant. A majority of smartphone owners use their mobile device to research a product, check prices or look for discounts while shopping in-store.
A recent survey offers insight into the habits of the on-the-go consumer.
For example, shoppers are more likely to rely on their smartphone for expensive or deliberated purchases, such as those at an electronics store. Also, 57 percent of respondents say they’ll scan a QR code for product details while shopping in an electronics store.
And 41 percent say they’re likely to search for a coupon while shopping in a grocery store or department store, according to survey results published in an article on MarketingLand.com.
It’s not surprising that more people are using their smartphones to do research. Shoppers won’t spend the time to do research on small-ticket items, but they will use their smartphone for coupons. The numbers are still low for purchasing on smartphones — that occurs more often on tablets.
More and more consumers are going to be using their smartphones in the shopping and purchasing process, and retailers need to be ready. The Marketing Land article offers a couple of takeaways from the survey:
- Marketers should embrace the research patterns of mobile consumers, and use the survey to guide how they should address consumers’ smartphone usage while shopping in store.
- Brands need to catch up with Consumer 2.0. A majority of brands don’t have an optimized mobile and online presence.
Source: Marketing Land, May 2012
