A recent study from Compete.com claims that more and more shoppers are getting comfortable making online purchases from their smart phones. The survey shows that approximately 37% of smart phone users have purchased something with their devices in the last 6 months. More popular items include music, books, DVDs, movie tickets and video games.
Given our recent departure from the holiday season’s shopping madness, it’s becoming increasingly evident of the growing necessity for brands, advertisers and retailers to focus on mobile strategies for the future. Ongoing support of online shopping, being pushed from the more secure online banking industry and other shopping incentives such as free shipping, means that more shoppers in general are gaining confidence in their online shopping.
Access to product reviews, price comparisons and other resources makes online shopping more effective and time-saving than running around to multiple stores and making phone calls to various locations. The very convenience of online shopping is now available on mobile devices such as smart phones.
What’s particularly interesting in this grand scheme is the opportunities for mobile shopping apps such as ShopSavvy. With bar code integration, the ability to search for and compare items, and immediate access to online stores where that item can be purchased, the convenience around shopping has been simplified further for mobile consumers. Even if you’re at the store, scanning a bar code and puling up lower prices via a mobile shopping app gives consumers the immediate ability to buy their item at what is most likely the lowest price.
Brands, retailers and advertisers will be looking towards these smart phone mobile apps in the coming year, as consumers will continue to turn to their phones for every resource possible. From coupons to nearby specials, smart phones act as direct access points for communication flowing between the corporate and consumer sides of the industry. That means mobile shopping apps become the advertising channels for the retail industry.
Cheaper marketing, direct access and a chance to monetize that mobile convenience will be driving factors in the growth of online and mobile shopping. We’re also likely to see additional mobile apps coming out for individual brands, with personalized shopping tools that will aim to retain the focus of the consumer. Some retailers already have such apps, including Target and Barnes & Noble.