Category: Tablet Commerce

For many owners of these and tablet devices, use is now a vital part of the buying experience.

The results of a new survey from Perception Research Services International has shown that 76 percent of smartphone owners will use mobile commerce in some way through a smartphone or tablet before they make a purchase of electrics, apparel, and grocery products.

The survey also discovered the specific reasons that these devices are used while shopping.

Smartphone and tablet owners use mobile commerce in a number of different ways as they debate buying various products. In fact, much of the influence from the devices is not for a direct purchase that is actually made online over the device. Instead, it is a part of the overall process from the point that the product is identified and onward.

Mobile commerce, therefore, plays a multichannel role in the road to buying one or several items.

Among the other mobile commerce discoveries that were made by the researchers include the following:

• 53 percent of smartphone owners compare prices through the use of the device.
• 49 percent of the survey’s respondents said that they use their devices to read customer reviews.
• 48 percent of these tablet and smartphone owners use the device to find coupons, sales, and other discount opportunities.
• 48 percent use the devices to seek out additional information about products.
• 37 percent head to a manufacturer’s site in order to obtain more product information.
• 34 percent use the device to seek out the opinion of a friend or family member.
• 31 percent actually make the product or service purchase through a mobile commerce site or app.
• 31 percent take part in a contest.
• 17 percent use the device to view a product demonstration.

The shopper research company, Perception Research Services International, looked into mobile commerce in order to help with merchandizing and packaging systems improvements. The survey involved the participation of 1,450 adults in the United States who were responsible for a minimum of half of the grocery shopping in their household. Among them, just over half (54 percent) owned a smartphone.

OpinionLab sheds light on consumer feedback

OpinionLab, a leading provider of Voice of Customer feedback, has released its Holiday 2012 eCommerce Site Experience Findings study. The study focuses on shedding insight on the experiences that consumers had using mobile commerce and e-commerce platforms during their holiday shopping in 2012. Christmas has yet to arrive, so the study mostly accounts for the experiences consumers had during the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, which includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The study draws upon the information provided by more than 43,000 consumers.

Consumers favor tablets over smart phones

Mobile commerce had a strong showing during the holiday shopping season this year. Millions of consumers made use of their mobile devices in order to purchase the products that they wanted the most. According to OpinionLab, one theme dominated the feedback they received for the study: Most consumers favored their tablet device over their smart phones when shopping. The study notes that consumers using tablets were more satisfied with their shopping experience than those using smart phones.

Tablets are not ideal for commerce

Though consumers preferred their tablet devices, the study shows that tablets were most favored for shopping, not for actually purchasing products. The study indicates that more consumers used tablet devices to research products, price hunt, and browse online stores. Customer satisfaction begins to diminish when mobile transactions become involved, with consumers claiming that tablet devices are not well suited to take advantage of e-commerce platforms. Part of this may be due to the fact that e-commerce platforms are rarely optimized to be used on tablet devices.

2013 may be a great year for mobile commerce

Tablets are becoming more popular with consumers, presenting a promising opportunity for retailers and other businesses in terms of engagement. Tablets have already shown promising growth this holiday season and this momentum may well carry into next year. OpinionLab predicts that mobile commerce will have an even stronger performance in the 2013 holiday season than it did this year.