Mobile shopping goes mainstream in the US
The most popular products purchased on smartphones during the month of September included digital goods, clothing/accessories, tickets and daily deals. These findings and others will be presented via a live, complimentary webinar, Handheld Shopping: How Mobile is Changing the Retail Environment, on 7 December. For more details and to register, click here.
"Fuelled by smartphone adoption, mobile is becoming a central part in the shopping funnel for many consumers," said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president for mobile. "In September we saw two-thirds of all smartphone owners perform shopping activities on their phones, including comparing products and prices, searching for coupons, taking product pictures or locating a retail store. Considering there are currently 90 million smartphone owners in the US, retailers without a well-developed mobile strategy are not only missing a tremendous opportunity with these customers but also risk becoming obsolete in the minds of these digital omnivores."
Digital goods, clothing/accessories and tickets among the most popular mobile purchases
Digital content purchases, such as music, e-books, TV episodes and movies, were the most popular mobile purchases in September with 47% of smartphone purchasers buying these items. 37% purchased clothing or accessories directly from retailer, while 35% of purchasers bought event tickets. Slightly more than one in three mobile purchasers bought daily deals and gift certificates on their device during the month.
| Types of Products Purchased by Smartphone Buyers Total US Mobile Subscribers Ages 18+ (Source: Custom Mobile Retail Advisor Survey Sept 2011) | |
|---|---|
| Type of Products Purchased on Smartphone | % of Smartphone Buyers |
| Digital purchases (i.e., songs/music, eBooks, ringtones, images, movies, TV shows, etc.) | 47% |
| Clothing or accessories directly from retailer | 37% |
| Tickets (i.e., concerts, movies, theatrical productions, sporting events, etc.) | 35% |
| Daily deals | 34% |
| Gift certificates | 34% |
| Electronics (i.e., television, computer) | 32% |
| Food (not grocery) for delivery or pick up (ex., pizza, Chipotle) | 31% |
| Hotel stays | 29% |
| Books (physical copies) | 26% |
| Car rentals | 24% |
| Airplane tickets | 24% |
| Flowers | 21% |
| Sports/Fitness | 19% |
| Auto | 13% |
Analysis of where consumers were located when they purchased products/services on their smartphone found that 56% did so while at home, leading as the most popular purchase location. 42% of consumers made purchases while out of home (i.e. restaurants, parks, etc.) or at work, with 37% making purchases while travelling/commuting. Slightly more than one in three purchasers used their smartphone to make a purchase while in a store, highlighting the increasingly important role mobile is playing in consumers' brick and mortar retail experience, especially as a tool for real-time price and product comparisons.
| Location When Purchasing on Smartphone Total US Mobile Subscribers Ages 18+ (Source: Custom Mobile Retail Advisor Survey Sept 2011) | |
|---|---|
| % of Smartphone | |
| Buyers | |
| Home | 56% |
| Out other places (i.e., park, school, restaurant, etc.) | 42% |
| Work | 42% |
| Travelling (i.e., in a car, on the subway, in a cab) | 37% |
| In Store | 36% |
Handheld shopping: how mobile is changing the retail environment webinar
Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile, will present further analysis from the comScore Mobile Retail Advisor via a live, complementary webinar on Wednesday, 7 December at 2pm EST (7pm GMT, 9pm South Africa). For more information and to register, click here.
The new comScore Mobile Retail Advisor is a twice-per-year report that focuses on the evolving mobile retail environment, with insights from comScore syndicated products as well as a custom survey. For more information on the comScore Mobile Retail Advisor, please contact Ralph Mango at moc.erocsmoc@ognamr.
Source: comScore
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