U.S. Smartphone Owners Use Phones For Shopping, But Not Necessarily Buying
By Anna Johnson on May 6th, 2011A growing number of the United States’ 73.3 million U.S. smartphone users are using their mobile phones for shopping… but not necessarily buying.
A January 2010 survey of 1,400 U.S. smartphone owners by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies found that over half used their phones for shopping. But mainly to compare prices and find stores.
Two thirds (66 percent) used their smartphones to compare prices, while over half (58 percent) used them to find their nearest store.
Research by comScore in January 2010 revealed similar findings: 49 percent of smartphone owners used their phones to find nearby stores, 46 percent to compare prices prior to shopping, and 44 percent to research product details.
When it comes to iPhone users in particular, the Chadwick study found that more than 70 percent of iPhone owners used apps or the web to help them shop while in-store, while 41 percent used their phones to buy something.
Source: eMarketer, “Top Mobile Shopping Activities of US Smartphone Users,” eMarketer, March 25, 2011
