Smartphone Owners Mobile Purchasing Behaviors Differ by Device

As consumers become more and more dependent on their mobile phones to assist them in their everyday lives, it’s inevitable that they will begin to make purchases via mobile.  In a transition similar to that of the Internet before it, consumers are now beginning to test the capabilities of their mobile device to become the ultimate tool of convenience allowing them to handle the purchase of items they need using mobile technology.  And as it was with the Internet, retailers are now playing ‘catch up’ to make that capability available.  However, as those retailers begin to develop their mobile marketing strategies they can now take advantage of the research offered below.

Therefore, we recommend that all retailers become familiar with the information below and then begin the process of optimizing their websites for mobile viewing. Should you elect not to optimize for all mobile devices, then use the information below to select the the device whose user-demographic profile best matches your target demo’s.

Retailers can learn more about the best ways to use mobile technology to promote their products and services by visiting our website, and if your firm would like to explore using mobile, we at Strategic Growth Concepts would be happy to assist you.  To schedule a free consultation regarding using mobile marketing for your firm, contact us via our website.

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Center for Media Research

According to the Compete quarterly Smartphone Intelligence survey, smartphone owners are more comfortable buying from their handsets, but still have some site functionality problems. 8% of smartphone owners that tried to purchase a product on their device were unable to do so. 45% of those that abandoned the process reported that they did so because the site would not load, and an additional 38% left the site because it was not developed specifically for smartphone users.

Danielle Nohe, director of consumer technologies for Compete, points out that “… smartphone use is no longer limited to an exclusive group of tech savvy consumers. As… people grow more comfortable transacting, site owners must redesign around mobile shopping ease-of-use… “

Nonetheless, says the report, mobile commerce (m-commerce) is ready to explode in 2010. But Nohe cautions that marketers recognize the differences that vary by individual and device. For instance, he says “We’re seeing notable behavior differences across devices… (as) users of the Android operating system share different characteristics than Blackberry and iPhone enthusiasts.”

Maximum Willing To Spend Purchasing on Smartphone (% of Owners by Type of Smartphone)   Spending Range (Dollars) Type of Phone <$10 10-25.01 25.01-50 50.01-75 75.01-100 100.1-25 250.01-500 >500 Android 40% 10 6 3 9 3 18 11 Windows 50 11 10 5 10 6 5 4 iPhone 28 10 14 6 12 11 9 9 Blackberry 51 11 10 6 8 7 5 2 Palm 55 11 7 4 10 4 4 5 Source: Compete Smartphone Intelligence Survey, Q3 2009

Key findings from Compete’s Q3 2009 Smartphone Intelligence survey include:

• 37% of smartphone owners have purchased something non-mobile with their handset in the past 6 months
• 19% of total smartphone owners have purchased music from their device, 14% have purchased books, DVDs, or video games and 12% have purchased movie tickets
• 40% of Android owners and 51% of Blackberry owners would spend $500 or more to buy a product from their mobile phone, compared to 9% of iPhone owners
• The most popular mobile shopping-related activities are research related: 41% of iPhone users and 43% of Android users are most likely to check sale prices at alternative locations from their mobile phones while they are shopping
• The second most likely activity is accessing consumer reviews, with 39% of iPhone owners and 31% of Android owners investigating reviews from their handset before they purchase
• While m-commerce is poised for explosive growth in 2010, consumers are still more likely to abandon mobile purchasing on sites that are not optimized for the on-the-go experience, similar to shopping cart abandonment in the early days of e-commerce.

Shopping Use of SmartPhone Away From Computer (% of SmartPhone Owner Respondents Using At All) Use of Smartphone % of Respondents Look up shopping info about item to purchase online 68% Find address & store hours of preferred store 68 Review a product description 52 Look at 3rd party or consumer review of product while in store 45 Check order status originally placed online 43 Look for retailer or product coupons 43 Check for availability of in-store pickup 40 Check price of in store item as “good deal” 36 Make purchase after seeing item in store 34 Make purchase if product not available in store 28 Make purchase without seeing item in store 28 Check status of rebate submitted 24 Source: Compete Smartphone Intelligence Survey, Q3 2009

Compete’s Smartphone Intelligence combines consumer insights with behavioral data to reveal how smartphone owners are using their phones.

For additional information about this study, please visit here.

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