Smartphone shopping surge over Christmas
Christmas 2011 saw a dramatic shift in the way consumers shopped for their festive gifts and food, according to a study from Intersperience.
The international consumer research specialist found that nearly one in three people used their mobile phone in some way to help them buy items over Christmas and the New Year. Mobiles were used to purchase items, compare prices, read product reviews, and check specifications online while shopping for things such as new mobile phone contracts.
Consumers also used their phones to track down e-coupons and discount vouchers in an effort to slash the cost of their Christmas spending as concerns about the worsening state of the economy continued over the holidays.
Paul Hudson, chief executive of Intersperience, said: “This is the year that the mobile phone changed the way we shop. With people very conscious of their reduced spending power this year, they have chosen the latest technology to help them find the best deals.”
Some 20% of respondents to the survey said they used their phone to check a competitor’s pricing while in-store. Nearly a third of these then went on to buy a cheaper alternative on their phones there and then.
The use of mobile phones was a big driver in the general increase in online shopping over Christmas and the New Year. The amount spent over the holidays by the average internet shopper rose by £25 to £188 compared to last year, while the average spend in stores dropped £13 to £166 per customer, according to the Intersperience poll.
Mr Hudson commented: “Although the proportion of people buying online has fallen, the number of transactions per shopper has increased and the value of goods bought online has also risen. That means there has been overall headline growth in online sales.
“It tends to be the over-25s who prefer to purchase presents online. Younger consumers use the internet and their smart phones for research but more of them buy in stores. When we asked them why, 41% said they worried about order delivery, a far higher figure than among older consumers.”
A separate study by the mobile analytics firm Flurry revealed that 1.2 billion smartphone apps were downloaded around the world over the Christmas week – a new record. The US accounted for 509 million, or 42.3%, of these, while China was in a distant second place on 99 million. The UK was third with a total of 81 million downloads, ahead of countries like Germany, France and Canada. The majority of app downloads come from iPhone 4S owners, although Android is rapidly catching up in the number of app downloads and overall apps on offer.
Peter Farago, vice-president of marketing at Flurry, said: "Looking forward to 2012, Flurry expects breaking the 1 billion per week download barrier will become more commonplace."