EcommerceBytes-NewsFlash, Number 3064 - May 14, 2013     5 of 5

Shoppers Who Use Mobile More Spend More In Store

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While it may seem counterintuitive, Google data shows shoppers who use mobile actually more spend more in store. And it doesn't just apply to high ticket or complex items like appliances and electronics. Google said that in every industry it looked at, including household items, apparel, and pet care, more than 70% of smartphone shoppers used their phones in store to help with shopping.

Not surprisingly, shoppers used their mobile phones primarily for price comparison (53%), but they also used them to find offers and promotions (39%); find locations of other stores (36%); and to find store hours (35%).

Google compared the in-store purchases of moderate and frequent smartphone users and found that basket sizes of frequent mobile shoppers were 25-50% higher. "For instance, while the average appliance smartphone shoppers spends $250 per shopping trip, frequent smartphone shoppers spend $350." Google recommended, "Marketers shouldn’t shy away from the showrooming challenge, and should instead, meet it head on."

Forbes columnist Janet Novak recently tackled the issue of showrooming in, "Reverse Showrooming: Best Buy, Amazon And The Internet Sales Tax" where she described her experience when shopping for a laptop computer. Her shopping experience included online and in-store research, and it's an interesting look at how consumers are using all the resources available to them when making important purchases.

Google will be hosting a webinar on May 16 to discuss the research, see more information on Google's website.

About the author:

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.
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