By Chuck Martin
No matter how you slice it, mobile consumers want to shop in stores and they’re looking for a deal.
This came through in a new survey of moms, with most (85%) saying they expect to do more than half or all of their back-to-school shopping in stores this year.
The majority (52%) say they will do less than half of their shopping online, according to the back-to-school survey of 500 mothers conducted by Survey Monkey for Punchtab.
Even though they plan to buy in physical stores, most (60%) said they will use their smartphone while shopping and they’re looking for deals, which is consistent with other research.
While in the store, moms are four times more likely to use their smartphone to look for coupons compared to other mobile activities.
Regarding the mobile shopping aspects, here’s how mothers plan to use their smartphone to assist:
48% — Look for coupons or sales
30% — Compare prices among different stores
29% — Browse for items in online stores
20% — Browse or research items on a store’s website before going to the store
18% — Research items on brands’ websites
16% — Purchase items from online stores
While in the store, mobile activities are somewhat different, with the exception of the importance of coupons topping the list. Here’s how moms plan to use their smartphones in stores:
46% — Look for mobile coupons
11% — Read online reviews
11% — Check point status or availability of rewards in store loyalty program
3% — Use a mobile wallet or payment application to pay for purchase
Retailers may want to pay close attention to the idea of offering coupons and deals via mobile.
For back-to-school shopping, almost all of the moms say coupons or deals are important, with 89% of them rating coupons and deals as at least somewhat important to their purchase decision.
Those who ignore that could end up dealing with only 11% of that market.
Chuck Martin is Editor of the mCommerce Daily at MediaPost and writes the daily MobileShopTalk column. He is the author of “Mobile Influence,” “The Third Screen,” and “The Smartphone Handbook.” He is CEO of Mobile Future Institute. Chuck Martin is a frequent Mobile Keynote Speaker and Mobile Marketing Speaker internationally. He also addresses Social Media in Mobile.
