A Nielsen study shows that mobile shopping comes in many different forms depending on the retailer.
Nielsen has released the results of one of its latest consumer studies, which was geared toward understanding how smartphone owners use their devices to make purchases and the decisions surrounding them, such as their use of QR codes and other techniques and technologies.
Though much of the information collected simply supported the findings of previous studies and predictions in the industry. What was especially notable, though, was not the fact that people were indeed shopping with their smartphones, but it was the way in which they were using those devices in order to help them throughout the entire purchasing process.
The study examined price comparisons, barcode scans, and even coupon redemption.
Nielsen found that – not terribly shockingly – the way in which the smartphones were being used and whether QR codes were scanned had a great deal to do with what the person was hoping to buy and where he or she was shopping.
Though some of the trends identified were relatively obvious, there were also many interesting details.
For example, the most popular place for mobile shoppers to use digital coupons was in grocery stores. On the topic of coupon redemption, 41 percent said that they’d used their devices for those discounts at grocery stores, while another 41 percent said that they’d used them in department stores, and 39 percent said that they had redeemed coupons with their smartphones at clothing stores.
Electronics stores also saw a great deal of mobile device use, as 73 percent had read reviews there, 71 percent had performed price comparisons, and 57 percent had scanned QR codes.
The research also found that the more expensive the item was, the more likely the consumer was to take out a smartphone and attempt to find a better deal. However, at the same time, while expensive electronics saw a great deal of mobile use, furniture shoppers who were purchasing items that were equally expensive didn’t use their smartphones nearly as much. For example, only 19 percent of the study participants had read reviews, and a mere 5 percent had scanned QR codes.