Majority of consumers would like to automatically receive discount vouchers

Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - 08:58 by Graham Miller

A study looking at the way that people are using their smartphones to shop online, both at home and while in high street outlets, has revealed that bargain-hunting Brits are generally keen to have offers sent to them when they are available.

Almost two thirds of the respondents to a Savvy Marketing survey, said that they like the idea of being automatically notified of any available offers via their portable device whenever they are in the region of a particular bricks and mortar outlet.

The idea is that the location-based capabilities of modern smartphones, combined with the various types of connectivity they offer, could be harnessed to help retailers send alerts on offers and coupons whenever someone is actually inside a particular store.

Since plenty of people already use their smartphones for shopping online, or simply to compare prices when they are out and about, this is a natural evolution of that process.

Almost sixty per cent of those questioned said that they liked the idea of using their mobile to look for items they want to purchase, both online and in store. Fifty three per cent said they would be interested in getting other information sent to their phone, such as details of other products they may want to purchase.

High street retailers are certainly capable of benefitting from the rise in m-commerce activity, because of course, with more people shopping from their smartphones, there is a better chance of getting people out of the house and into real world stores.

There will be many consumers who feel that being automatically bombarded with vouchers and offers as they walk through the shops might be a bit intrusive, so retailers will need to think carefully about how they implement any such scheme.