Tag: mobile shopping

Shoppers heading out for supplies at the beginning of the school year have been increasingly using smartphones.

According to a new Back to School Shopping: 2013 Trends mobile commerce report that was released by Placed, Inc., almost half of all parents who own smartphones used their devices to help them to find discounts such as coupons while they were shopping for school supplies for their children, this year.

The report also indicated that many of the parents were actually making their purchases on their smartphones.

Its estimates showed that over 20 percent of parents who owned smartphones actually purchased school supplies through mobile commerce. These statistics are providing a great deal of insight into the current trends, as well as those that may be expected over the holiday season, this year.

The mobile commerce survey was based on the feedback of more than 12,000 smartphone owners.

Each of the participants had at least one child. Beyond discovering that mobile commerce shopping activity has increased, it also underscored the growing value of the showrooming trend, which had previously been seen as a threat to brick and mortar stores.

It revealed that nearly two in every five smartphone using parents used their smartphones for mobile commerce purchases, but also used “showrooming” behaviors to view their products in physical stores before performing online research to make sure that they found the precise item they want, and at the best price.

Brick and mortar shops have previously felt threatened by showrooming, feeling worried that they would lose their business to the competition while shoppers were standing under their roofs. However, that doesn’t seem to be the way that mobile commerce works. Among the surveyed parents, 35 percent had accessed retailer apps or websites from their smartphones while in those specific stores. This suggests that showrooming can help to lead to solidified brand loyalty.

That said, the survey also showed that some retail shops were more effective than others at appealing to the mobile commerce loving parents. One of the more successful players, for example, was Macy’s, which has a highly mobile friendly experience, and where parents with smartphones were 20 percent more likely to visit a physical store than the average customer regardless of device use.

Study highlights mobile commerce prospects in the US

Leading analytics and market research firm comScore has released a new study concerning mobile commerce sales in the U.S. The study suggests that mobile commerce is making strong progress in the U.S. over sales recorded in 2012. Consumers seem to be showing a great deal of interest in mobile payments because of the convenience that they represent. This interest is being stoked by retailers that are adopting mobile commerce systems. More of these systems have also been showing up throughout the country, providing consumers with a variety of options when it comes to mobile shopping.

$10 billion in sales surpassed during first half of 2012

According to the study, mobile commerce sales in the U.S. could reach $25 billion by the end of this year. Sales have already surpassed $10 billion during the first half of the year and the momentum mobile commerce has generated has yet to show signs of dissipating in the near future. comScore notes that mobile commerce sales reached approximately $20 billion by the end of 2012.

Smartphones account for majority of sales

The study shows that smartphones still account for the lion’s share of mobile payments. More money was spent by tablet users on a per user basis, however. Many consumers have expressed their favor for tablets in for mobile shopping over smartphones. This may be due to the fact that tablets feature larger screens that make it easier to navigate the shopping experience.

NFC dependence limits mobile commerce adoption

The U.S. is quickly establishing itself as a major mobile commerce market. Unfortunately, most mobile commerce services are still based on NFC technology, meaning that only NFC-enabled devices can make use of these services. NFC-enabled devices are still relatively rare in the U.S., limiting the number of people that can participate in mobile commerce. Moreover, no single mobile commerce service has yet managed to establish a major following among U.S. consumers.