• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, April 15, 2014

Mobile savvy shoppers seem to know what they do and don’t want in their shopping experience.

They want mobile technology that makes them faster and more efficient, based on a new study.

The study, conducted by InsightsNow and Catalina, also identified reasons shoppers would shy away from using their phones to shop.

The top barriers to usage were:

• 55% -- Slow down rather than speed up the trip
• 31% -- Doesn’t help get past the checkout faster
• 31% -- Doesn’t offer useful discounts and coupons
• 29% -- Too complicated to bother with

Since these were relatively active smartphone shoppers, most were understandably familiar with shopping apps. A large number (89%) could recall at least one shopping app or website they used from their smartphone and most (84%) recognized two or more.

Many of the shoppers in this study also are active with coupons, with almost a third (31%) having used 31 or more during the previous six months and more than half using more than 16.

Future potential usage of digital coupons among mobile savvy shoppers is high. The likelihood of using digital coupons in the future:

• 38% -- Extremely likely
• 24% -- Very likely
• 17% -- Moderately likely
• 19% -- Somewhat likely
• 2% -- Unlikely

As is common in other studies, this survey found that mobile shoppers place deals at the top of their most desired features. The leading reason for adopting mobile shopping applications are coupons/offers, real-time coupons and shopping list reminders.

With mobile, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions and this survey interestingly identified who wants what:

• 38% -- Want integrated features (reminders of things on list, making list based on previous purchases)
• 37% -- Want savings-based features (coupons, offers, real-time coupons)
• 25% -- Want efficiency features (coupons, offers, rea-time coupons)

The features that don’t interest shoppers are meal/recipe planners, receipt images and social integration.

The study, Getting Smart about Today’s Mobile Savvy Shopper, focused on grocery shoppers. It comprised a survey of 1,000 smartphone owners at least 18 years old who buy at least half the groceries for their households.

They also had to use their smartphone for grocery and household goods shopping within the last three months, or be interested in using it in the future.

Identifying what consumers do and don’t desire in their mobile shopping journey can lead to more relevant and useful mobile strategies and tactics.

Delivering it is yet another story.