Mobile Shopping Goes Mainstream: Majority of U.S. Smartphone Owners Performed Shopping Activities on Their Phone in September
Two of Every Five Smartphone Owners Have Used Mobile Device to Make a Purchase
comScore Hosts Webinar, “Handheld Shopping: How Mobile is Changing the Retail Environment”
RESTON, VA, December 5, 2011 - comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study on U.S. mobile retail usage based on data from the new comScore Mobile Retail Advisor report. The results showed that 38 percent of smartphone owners have used their phone to make a purchase at least once in the course of their device ownership. The most popular products purchased on smartphones during the month of September included digital goods, clothing/accessories, tickets and daily deals. These findings and others will be presented via a live, complimentary webinar,Handheld Shopping: How Mobile is Changing the Retail Environment, on December 7. For more details and to register, please visit:http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Events_Webinars/Webinar/2011/Handheld_Shopping_How_Mobile_is_Changing_the_Retail_Environment
“Fueled by smartphone adoption, mobile is becoming a central part in the shopping funnel for many consumers,” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president for mobile. “In September we saw two-thirds of all smartphone owners perform shopping activities on their phones, including comparing products and prices, searching for coupons, taking product pictures or locating a retail store. Considering there are currently 90 million smartphone owners in the U.S., retailers without a well-developed mobile strategy are not only missing a tremendous opportunity with these customers but also risk becoming obsolete in the minds of these digital omnivores.”
Digital Goods, Clothing/Accessories and Tickets among the Most Popular Mobile Purchases
Digital content purchases, such as music, eBooks, TV episodes and movies, were the most popular mobile purchases in September with 47 percent of smartphone purchasers buying these items. 37 percent purchased clothing or accessories directly from retailer, while 35 percent of purchasers bought event tickets. Slightly more than one in three mobile purchasers bought daily deals and gift certificates on their device during the month.
| Types of Products Purchased by Smartphone Buyers Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 18+ Source: Custom Mobile Retail Advisor Survey Sep. 2011 | |
| Type of Products Purchased on Smartphone | % of Smartphone Buyers |
| Digital purchases (i.e., songs/music, eBooks, ringtones, images, movies, TV shows, etc.) | 47% |
| Clothing or accessories directly from retailer | 37% |
| Tickets (i.e., concerts, movies, theatrical productions, sporting events, etc.) | 35% |
| Daily deals | 34% |
| Gift certificates | 34% |
| Electronics (i.e., television, computer) | 32% |
| Food (not grocery) for delivery or pick up (ex., pizza, Chipotle) | 31% |
| Hotel stays | 29% |
| Books (physical copies) | 26% |
| Car rentals | 24% |
| Airplane tickets | 24% |
| Flowers | 21% |
| Sports/Fitness | 19% |
| Auto | 13% |
Analysis of where consumers were located when they purchased products/services on their smartphone found that 56 percent did so while at home, leading as the most popular purchase location. 42 percent of consumers made purchases while out of home (i.e. restaurants, parks, etc.) or at work, with 37 percent making purchases while traveling/commuting. Slightly more than one in three purchasers used their smartphone to make a purchase while in a store, highlighting the increasingly important role mobile is playing in consumers’ brick and mortar retail experience, especially as a tool for real-time price and product comparisons.
| Location When Purchasing on Smartphone Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers Ages 18+ Source: Custom Mobile Retail Advisor Survey Sep. 2011 | |
| % of Smartphone Buyers | |
| Home | 56% |
| Out other places (i.e., park, school, restaurant, etc.) | 42% |
| Work | 42% |
| Traveling (i.e., in a car, on the subway, in a cab) | 37% |
| In Store | 36% |
Handheld Shopping: How Mobile is Changing the Retail Environment Webinar
Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile, will present further analysis from the comScore Mobile Retail Advisor via a live, complimentary webinar on Wednesday, December 7 at 2:00PM EST. For more information and to register, please visit:http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Events_Webinars/Webinar/2011/Handheld_Shopping_How_Mobile_is_Changing_the_Retail_Environment
The new comScore Mobile Retail Advisor is a twice-per-year report that focuses on the evolving mobile retail environment, with insights from comScore syndicated products as well as a custom survey. For more information on the comScore Mobile Retail Advisor, please contact Ralph Mango atrmango@comscore.com.
