It’s no secret that mobile shoppers are getting more
comfortable using their phones while shopping in a physical store.
Even as retailers gear up for the wave of holiday shoppers that numerous studies are projecting, many shoppers can be
expected to turn to their phones to get product information on the fly.
In addition to consumers using their phones to search for information, millennials also act on mobile notifications sent
to them while in a store.
When a shopper can’t find the product information they need in a store, most (75%) are likely to research and purchase the product online, according to a recent
study. The need for additional product information is even higher (87%) among millennials
The study comprised a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by Harris Poll for Digimarc, the company
that creates invisible barcodes on packaging.
As long as it was easy, most (71%) shoppers would use their mobile device to get more information from product packaging and almost half (48%)
would like to use their phone while in a store to search for products they want to know more about.
But the information sought after by smartphone better be easily found. The majority (65%) of
shoppers are only willing to spend under a minute on a smartphone search in the aisle of a grocery store.
Many studies have shown that consumers to one degree or another lean on their
smartphones when shopping, and this one is no exception. But not all smartphone owners use their devices for every aspect of shopping. Here’s what they have done:
- 36% -- Gone home
to do more research about a product at home before buying it in-store.
- 33% -- Find what I need on the first page of results when using a search engine
- 31% -- Make purchase
decisions after looking up product information on my phone
- 27% -- Use smartphone to search for product information while in a store
- 24% -- Rely on my smartphone to help me make a
purchase decision while shopping
Smartphone owners also turn to their phones for a variety of in-store uses and have viewpoints around the mobile relationship to customer service. Here
are the views:
- 71% -- The stores I frequently shop at understand what information is valuable to me when I shop and make it readily available on the product package
- 60% -- If
I can’t find information on my phone, live help can be difficult to find in a store
- 58% -- My phone has provided more quality information faster than live help
- 50% -- My
phone is a better way to provide me with customer service than live help
- 48% -- The stores I frequently shop at have adapted to my smartphone usage to provide better customer service
Most notable is that in each of these categories, millennials are more likely to turn to their smartphones while shopping.
Millennial shoppers (18-34 years old) also like
location-based push notifications as they shop, based on another study.
That study comprised a survey of 500 millennials conducted by SSI for Retale.
Most (94%) millennials are using
location-based services in the form of apps that can identify where they are.
They key is that the majority (84%) say they act on push notifications they receive. Here’s the type of
information millennials like to have pushed to them, based on the suvey:
- 61% -- Coupon, discount or deal for immediate use
- 61% -- Customer rewards
- 35% -- New product
information and sale availability
- 35% -- Nearby store locations and hours
- 27% -- Receipts after completing a purchase
- 16% -- In-store guidance on where things are
The desire for deals is a common top-of-the-list item in most mobile shopping studies we see. But this survey also sheds some interesting light on what mobile millennials don’t want.
Here’s what they said they won’t respond to:
- 39% -- Notifications aren’t relevant enough
- 34% -- Notifications feel intrusive
- 25% -- Too many
notifications sent
- 14% -- Notifications don’t include deals
- 11% -- Notifications poorly timed
Mobile holiday shopping will be significant again this year and
the mobile millennial shoppers will make it even bigger.