Survey Says Smartphone Shopping Most Popular Among Men 18 - 34
By Brianna Ahearn, contributing writer
The number of retailers offering mobile-optimized content and websites for customers is growing, and many big retailers also let consumers shop on smartphones. However, the results of a recent survey show that the demographics of mobile shoppers consist of more men than women. The survey, “Holiday Shopping in a Cross-Screen World” emphasizes the growing popularity for mobile shopping across demographics.
The study was administered by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)'s Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence and Precision Market Insights from Verizon, and highlights the increasing prominence of mobile phones for browsing for and purchasing products for both genders. However, more men than women are actually making purchases via their smartphones.
According to the data collected by the survey, 76% of men age 18 to 34 surveyed make purchases on a mobile phone in a typical month, while only 59% of women in the same demographic do so. The survey also shows that the male smartphone users report spending a minimum of $51 on their smartphone during a purchase in a month. Perhaps most of interest to retailers who are looking to increase purchases through mobile devices, are the most important reasons why the respondents are going to shop for the holidays via smartphone. Of the answers, 51% responded that using a smartphone to shop was because they got the best price and saved money, while 36% of survey takers said the method helped them save time. The last reason ranked at 35%, and was the fact it was “quick and easy to search, research and find what I'm looking for.” As retailers look to improve their functionality on mobile devices for shopping ease, these supplied answers should help guide their work on any new updates.
“We see this research as reflecting the growing importance of smartphones among the multiplicity of screens, media devices at consumers’ disposal, signaling an opportunity for marketers to reach consumers at the time and place where they are already holiday shopping – on their phones,” says Anna Bager, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Video at IAB.
As they prepare for the holiday shopping season, 2/3 of shoppers total said they plan on using a smartphone to research, shop for or purchase products. Clothing retailers were the most frequented by survey respondents, with clothing representing 36% of the responses. Dining out closely followed clothing at 31%, and then books/media, toys/games, and consumer electronics all represented 29% of answers.
The survey also studied the use of tablets by shoppers, and find that almost 60% of the respondents who owned a smartphone also owned a tablet. Overall, computers came in first in the survey, with 74% of respondents indicating they typically use a computer to make a purchase decision, however, smartphones still ranked at 40%.
“In addition, with smartphones, tablets, and other devices gaining traction as shopping channels year-round, it is important that we understand exactly how consumers interact with these screens to research, shop for purchase products, so advertisers can accurately target them in a timely fashion, as they are doing on other media platforms,” says Bager.