Smartphones and tablets are not just making shopping more convenient and real-time; they are fundamentally changing how people think about shopping and, by extension, their everyday lives, a new study by research firm, Latitude shows. Many shoppers want digital content delivered to their mobile phones while shopping in a retail store, for example.
Entitled Next-Gen Retail: Mobile & Beyond, the study finds that mobile shopping makes people feel more relaxed, productive and informed, as well as more open-minded and receptive to discovering new things.
The study included a survey of 909 smartphone owners, ages 20-59, from the U.S. and the U.K. Sixty-five percent also owned tablets, making them dual owners. The survey assessed shoppers mindsets, motivations, current behaviors and unmet needs around both online and physical retail.
Alongside the survey, Latitude reports it also conducted a separate generative, online activity to collect participants future requests for new ways to enhance their shopping experiences, both online and in-store.
The study offers insights to brands, retailers and mobile developers, including: shoppers unmet needs, best practices for developing mobile retail destinations, and desirable future shopping experiences.
"What's exciting about mobile is that it allows people to make transactions without being in a transactional mindset. You can be out with friends, watching TV, or cooking in your kitchen and suddenly you have access to making a transaction in a way you didn't before," says Neela Sakaria, executive vice president of Latitude.
"Surprisingly, we found that many people prefer using their mobile devices for shopping even while at home. This means mobile isn't just about on-the-go convenience when it comes to shoppingwhich opens up some interesting possibilities for retailers to reach people in new, and perhaps more engaging, ways," Sakaria said.
Select findings from the study include:
-Mobile Makes Us Smarter, Faster, Better at Shopping and Life
Not surprisingly, saving time and money are key drivers of mobile shopping, but motivations do vary. For example, women tend to appreciate aspects of mobile that lead to more productive shopping; they are significantly more likely than men to go mobile because it eliminates waiting in line and because it's something they can do while multi-tasking. On the other hand, men are attracted to mobile because it streamlines shopping by offering better-curated options, which means fewer items to sift through.
However, the perks of mobile shopping extend beyond just retail experiences. The vast majority (88%) of people agree that having a mobile device with real-time information makes them more spontaneous with shopping and, in general, more open to discovering new things.
Shopping today is about discovering, and discovering more.
"Thanks to constant information access, we're moving from basic need-driven shopping to inspiration-driven shopping," says Kadley Gosselin, content & communications manager at Latitude, who led the study. "There's an opportunity for retailers to provide more than mechanical recommendations based on preferences and past purchases. Consumers want to feel a personal connection and, if possible, a sense of serendipity, when retailers communicate with them."
-In-Store Retail Should Tech Up
Shoppers are craving more from their in-store shopping experiences; they see possibilities to infuse physical stores with mobile and other connected technologies to offer product information, mitigate frustrations (e.g., waiting in the check-out line), personalize the experience, and so on. Seventy-nine percent of participants are interested in having digital content (e.g., demo videos, product recommendations, information about a products origin, etc.) delivered to their mobile phones while shopping in a store.
-Mobile Transactions are Gaining Traction.
Not surprisingly, younger generations are leading the charge when it comes to transacting from their mobile devices, the study notes.Smartphones are selected more often than laptops as a favorite purchasing platform by 20-29 year-olds.
Pushing beyond occasional purchasing from their smartphones, shoppers of all ages are looking for a more comprehensive mobile payment platform. Eighty percent are interested in a mobile wallet particularly if it enables them to skip on carrying cash or credit cards entirely.
Additional findings include:
-63 percent of people expect to be doing more shopping on their mobile devices over the next couple years. (Only 3% expect to be doing less.)
-81 percent of smartphone owners agree, because I have a mobile device, I am constantly shopping.
-85 percent report that being able to shop on mobile devices increases the likelihood of actually making a purchase.
-61 percent percent of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience.
-50 percent say that a well-executed, location-aware mobile alert makes them more likely to visit the store soon.
-60 percent of smartphone owners have used a mobile device while shopping in a store.
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