• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 28, 2023

Email teams may have noticed an increasing push to get people signed up for retail mobile apps. That’s probably because consumers are using them more, judging by a global study from Airship, conducted with Sapio Research. 

Of the shoppers surveyed, 33% are using apps more often and 45% have about the same usage as they did last year. Only 13% have decreased their use, while 10% have not utilized apps.

At 81%, millennials are using them more or the same as last year, along with 79% of Gen Xers. But Gen Zers and boomers are below the average, both at 72%. 

High-income households lead with 82% usage, followed by 79% of medium-income and 75% of low-income levels.    

Globally, the activities seeing the highest growth are: 

• Use loyalty cards or coupons stored on your phone — 81%/up from 73% in 2022
• Compare prices (Google, Amazon) — 78%/71%
• Visit the retailer’s website — 78%/68%
• Use the retailer’s app — 74%/65%
• Read user reviews — 73%/65%
• Pay contactlessly (Apple Pay, Google Wallet) — 69%/63%
• Click & collect, or outside pickup — 68%/63%
• Mobile self-checkout scan-and-go — 67%
• Scan QR codes or lap NFC tags for info or incentives — 64%/57%
• Text/SMS to join a brand’s loyalty program — 62%

• Visit the retailer’s website — 77%
• Use the retailer’s app — 75% 
• Use loyalty cards or coupons stored on your phone — 79% 
• Scan QR codes/tap NFC tags for info or special incentives — 58%
• Text/SMS to join a brand’s loyalty program — 67%
• Compare prices (Google, Amazon) — 76%
• Read user reviews — 69%
• Click & collect or curbside pickup — 64%
• Pay contactlessly (Apple Pay, Google Wallet, etc.) — 62% 
• Mobile self-checkout, scan-and-go — 64% 

Airship released the initial findings on Tuesday at Shoptalk.  

Why are consumers opting in to apps? They cite the following benefits in 2023, compared with 2022:

• Earn immediate discounts or loyalty reward points — 42%/35%
• Broad sales alerts & discounts — 25%/20% 
• Order confirmation receipts — 25%/25% 
• Easy access to big sales events, or exclusive product drops — 24%/21% 
• Shipping/delivery or curbside pickup alert s —24%/25%
• Personalized offers based on browsing behavior or past purchases — 21%/14% 
• Special offers triggered by your location — 20%/13% 
• Product warranties — 19%/13% 

None of this means that email messages and reminders play no part in this. Indeed, Airship supports email, SMS, mobile wallets and other channel activities. And the statistics show that 

Airship and Sapio Research surveyed 11,000 consumers across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Brazil in February 2023.