Younger Shoppers Take the Lead in Mobile Shopping
Multichannel retail is on the rise, and mobile shopping is trending among younger people as a new survey of U.S. and U.K. consumers conducted by digital marketing group Econsultancy shows. These results only come to underline a buying channel that has been promoted for years and some current studies as well.
The percentage of mobile shoppers has grown reaching 28% of U.S. and 25% of U.K. respondents, compared to 12% and respectively 13% in 2011. 44% of the UK consumers and 42% if those in the US aged between 18 and 34 years old have made a purchase using a mobile phone, while only 21% in the UK and 28% in the US of those between 35 and 54 took a similar action. Only 8% in the UK and 13% in the US of those older than 55 bought something using a mobile phone.
51% of the respondents in the UK and 61% of those in US aged between 18 and 34 years old have used their mobile phones to compare prices, and, as with buying, the percentages decrease in the following age groups in both countries.
If a store doesn’t have a product a shoppers wants, people simply go to another store (45% and, respectively 46%). The second most popular option is to search for the product online when the shoppers get back home (33% and 32%), followed by ordering the product in that store (16% and 14%) and only afterward use the mobile phone to find the product (5% and 8%). Yes, mobile devices are in fact the last resort in such cases.
We have to carefully consider the percentages of people using mobile phones to make purchases. While not as high – and, as mentioned above, the option of mobile shopping has been promoted for years now. In all this time, people have benefited from the launch of more and more smartphones from many brands. While the percentages are not yet through the roof, the number of those using their mobile devices to shop has roughly doubled in both countries. While it might seem such surveys are targeting young people and their willingness to move to mcommerce, the overall numbers do not lie – mobile shopping is getting more adopters every year.
