When it comes to mobile shopping tools, the tech-savvy early adopter may not fit your traditional image of early adopters: African Americans and Hispanics are adopting new shopping technologies at a faster rate than Caucasians; women are more likely to use mobile shopping tools than men, and parents are outpacing single adults, according to the latest issue of The Checkout, a shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research. The differences are especially pronounced when comparing ethnic demographics, in spite of the fact that smartphone penetration skews lower among African Americans and Hispanics than Caucasians.
Among the findings:
- 18% of African American shoppers and 16 percent of Hispanic shoppers are using their mobile device to make purchases, as compared to only 10% of Caucasians.
- 21% of percent of African American shoppers use their phone to read product reviews and maintain shopping lists, compared to versus 13% of Caucasian shoppers.
- 20% of Hispanic shoppers use their mobile device to compare prices on products, versus 13$ of Caucasian shoppers.
- Men might be the traditional lovers of tech toys, but when it comes to using technology to enhance shopping, women are in the lead.
- Households with children are more likely to use digital shopping solutions to save time and get organized..
What’s Driving M-Shopping?
A quarter of shoppers use their mobile device to shop, and for those, the biggest motivator is accessibility — the ability to shop where and when they want. Among Hispanics, this is such a key factor that more than 60% rated it as their favorite benefit of mobile shopping. For women, exclusivity is the second most important aspect: the ability to get content or promotions they can’t get elsewhere, while men are more focused on access to content.
For marketers, this means the opportunity to connect with shoppers via mobile campaigns is far broader than they may have thought. But it’s important to stick with the basics: according to the report, SMS is still the most popular way many shoppers look for engagement from brands and retailers, and coupons delivered to shoppers’ in-boxes are the largest channel for digital coupons today.
For more details, you can download the full report (registration required) from The Integer Group’s web site.
How much are you using mobile shopping tools? What are some of your favorite ways for stores to connect with m-shoppers?
