go-Digital Blog on Digital Marketing

Here’s How Consumers Are Shopping With Their Phones

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/bii-report-heres-how-consumers-are-shopping-with-their-phones-2012-9

Mobile devices are playing an increasingly large role in commerce.

In a special report out from BI Intelligence, we analyze patterns around all types of mobile behavior, including how people use their phones to shop.

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So, how are consumers using their phones in the shopping process? 

• Buying items directly:  Mobile is driving an increasingly large share of traffic to ecommerce sites.  Forrester Research forecasts U.S. mobile commerce to hit $10 billion this year, up from $6 billion in 2010. Mobile sales made up 6.6% of Cyber Monday sales in 2011, more than double the percentage of the previous year.

• Opening emails for discounts and coupons: Email is a crucial marketing ! channel for companies like Gilt Groupe, Groupon, and LivingSocial. Since many consumers access email mainly through their phones, mobile has become an important marketing channel.

• Research and comparison shopping: Mobile shoppers are likely to use their phones in-store to compare prices and consult on potential purchases with friends. An analysis by Deloitte estimates mobile will influence $158 billion of in-person retail sales this year. This is a big problem for brick-and-mortar retailers, as it brings ecommerce competition directly into their stores. 

• In-Store Payments: Consumers are beginning to make payments directly with their phones. According to Nielsen, 9% of mobile shoppers have paid for goods or services at point of sale. NFC probably won’t be the solution that powers this change though, but new apps like Pay with Square and Apple’s Passbook are promising.

The report is full of charts and da! ta that can be easily accessed, downloaded, and put to use.

In full, the report also looks at:

• The most popular mobile activities: We take a look at usage patterns around social networking, gaming, email, weather, search, and maps.

• The growth of the mobile web: We take a deep dive into mobile browser and app usage patterns and analyze the recent trends.

• How users are consuming content on their mobile devices: We take a look at how mobile users are consuming books, video, news, and music on their mobile devices.

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