• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, June 14, 2015

The consumer choice of using a retailer’s app or website to shop remains unsettled.

Some major retailers have found that their customers prefer using their mobile website over their app for commerce, no matter how good the app is.

It turns out that of those who have purchased on a mobile device, more than a third (38%) prefer the mobile website when shopping on a smartphone followed by 36% who prefer the full website, based on a recent study.

Only a quarter (24%) of mobile users have used a retailer’s mobile app on a weekly basis, according to the Pulse of the Online Shopper study conducted by comScore for UPS.

The study comprised an online survey of 5,000 consumers who had made at least two online purchases within a three-month period.

The study identified the app features consumers find to be important. Leading the list is product images (54%), product reviews (53%) and relevant search results (50%).

Consistent with other research, providing coupons was found to be important for 50% of mobile consumers, followed by store locators (46%) and the ability to check inventory (45%).

On a weekly basis, online shoppers use their phones for a range of shopping activities:

• 25% -- Look to locate stores, find store-related information
• 23% -- Research products prior to visiting a store
• 22% -- Use mobile device for research while in a store
• 22% -- Access emails while in a store, promoting in-store purchases

Of those who made a purchase via smartphone, here’s why they gravitate to phones for purchasing:

• 40% -- Always have phone with them, more convenient
• 36% -- Have phone with them in the store
• 30% -- Usually read their emails on their phone and click through to retailer sites
• 24% -- Have tracked delivery of an order weekly
• 23% -- When in a store, search for a different online retailer
• 22% -- When in a store, check in-stock status at another store

I also found some of the other insights in the study to be quite interesting, at least as an indication of what some mobile shoppers would be open to in the future.

For example, a third (33%) of shoppers find electronic shelf labels appealing, a quarter (26%) are drawn to the idea of in-store mobile payments, 29% would like mobile checkout and 27% would like to be able to find a roaming associate in the store to check out.

While all of those features and more are in various stages of development, retailers are still faced with the challenge of getting shoppers to adopt their apps.