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36% Find Mobile Shopping Same as Online; 35% Worse
by Chuck Martin, Wednesday, December 11, 2013 3:40 PM
We’ve been seeing countless holiday shopping surveys relating
to mobile sales, primarily focusing on the actual transaction stage of the shopping process. While these are generally good indicators of some of the mobile activity related to shopping, they
don’t always provide the entire picture. A new study by ResearchNow sponsored by Mobiquity now provides some insight into the actual satisfaction level of mobile shoppers in relation to
other forms of shopping and finds that some retailers are not delivering the mobile shopping experiences desired by consumers. When asked how mobile shopping compares to online shopping, more
than a third (36%) said it was the same while almost the same number (35%) said it was worse. Nine percent found the mobile experience to be better than online. The most browsed retail mobile
site or app was Target, followed by Walmart, last year’s leader, and Best Buy. Here’s the list of most browsed mobile site or app by smartphone.
- 39% -- Target
- 37%
-- Walmart
- 30% -- Best Buy
- 27% -- Apple
- 19% -- Macy’s
- 19% -- The Home Depot
- 19% -- Kohl’s
- 16% -- Lowe’s
- 15% --
Costco
- 15% -- Walgreens
As I expected, mobile browsing is driving shoppers into stores where they complete their purchases. After browsing on a smartphone, more than a third
(35%) complete their purchase in a store as do more than a third (36%) of tablet users. Interestingly, there seems to be a difference in preference between mobile apps and mobile websites,
depending on the amount being spent. The study found that of those spending less than $100 on holiday gifts, more (64%) would use the mobile site compared to those would use the retailer app
(51%) But of those spending more than $100, more (49%) would use the app than those who would use the retailer’s mobile site (43%). The most frustrating aspects of mobile
shopping are design and user experience issues, with the chief complaints being products hard to find, images hard to see and reviews difficult to locate, according to the study of smartphone or
tablet shoppers. And this matters, since many smartphone (48%) and tablet (50%) shoppers are less likely to shop again with a retailer if the mobile experience is poor. This is the
time to work to get it right.