Mobile shoppers are more decisive

Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 14:39 by Paul Tissington

The results of a new xAd study suggest that people who carry out product research from their portable devices while they are out and about tend to be willing to commit to a purchase quicker than other consumers.

A 45 per cent bump in purchases made within 60 minutes is seen amongst mobile shoppers compared with those who prefer to look up items and read reviews while they are at home.

Forty four per cent of respondents to the report said that they now see smartphones and tablets as being the most important tool which they use to find out about products before they make a purchase. And it is clear that soon the use of mobiles to carry out safe shopping online and read more about services while in-store will be a habit that holds sway over the majority of consumers.

In spite of this, the study also found that nine out of 10 transactions handled by retailers are still carried out in bricks and mortar stores, meaning that e-commerce as a whole has a long way to go before it replaces high street shopping.

Smartphones are seen as being essential in helping real world retail outlets remain relevant, since people are now more than happy to use their devices while in-store as part of the shopping experience.

Some companies have been worried about the impact that this kind of activity will have on sales, since customers can effectively compare prices in real time and might be won over by competitors. But as with safe shopping online, the real deciding factor is not price but convenience, so as long as the experience on offer is compelling, consumers will not head elsewhere.

The fact that mobile users make purchases quicker than their home e-commerce counterparts suggests that retailers are actually benefitting from increased decisiveness spurred on by easy access to prices and reviews.