Commentary

36% Find Mobile Shopping Same as Online; 35% Worse

by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, December 11, 2013

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.

customer experience, holiday, mcommerce, mobile, online sales, research, retail

8 comments about "36% Find Mobile Shopping Same as Online; 35% Worse".

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Brian Kelly from brian brands, December 12, 2013 at 11:57 a.m.
when was this study in the field?
Reply

Justin Fogarty from BloomReach, December 12, 2013 at 12:22 p.m.

"Many smartphone (48%) and tablet (50%) shoppers are less likely to shop again with a retailer if the mobile experience is poor."

So true. We just finished a research project with UserTesting.com that looked at the mobile experience. Needless to say, many of them did not fare very well. The quantifiable satisfaction makes the case, but actually watching video of frustrated shoppers muddling through poor experiences really resonated.

Methodology, take-aways and video highlights are here if you're interested.

http://bloomreach.com/2013/12/findability-on-a-mobile-site/

Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin, December 12, 2013 at 1:06 p.m.

It was Nov,. 6-11, Brian, comprising 1,003 consumers who owned a smartphone and/or tablet, about their shopping experiences at 20 of the top brick & mortar retailers.

Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin, December 12, 2013 at 1:07 p.m.

Thanks Justin, can be so very frustrating for a consumer.

Brian Kelly from brian brands, December 12, 2013 at 1:09 p.m.

Thanks Chuck! Happy Holidays

Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin, December 12, 2013 at 2:33 p.m.

Thanks Brian, and to you as well.

Sam Jackson from Mojo Motors, December 24, 2013 at 5 p.m.

Another important factor to consider is that many consumers are shopping across platforms. They may do some browsing on their desktop while at work, confirm the model name of an item from their phone on the way to the store, and then purchase the item in store.

In light of this, it is critical to that your website is built with responsive design so that the shopping experience is consistent across platforms. At mojomotors.com, we drive traffic through email alerts that are often opened through mobile devices, so this is particularly important for us.

Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin, December 24, 2013 at 8:36 p.m.

Exactly right about shopping across platforms, Sam. The Mobile Shopping Life Cycle is a continuing process.