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February 11, 2014

Smartphone 'Showrooming' Increasing in Popularity

There is very little doubt that smartphones are only getting more popular the further into the 21st century we go. People are finding all kinds of different uses for their smartphones all the time. A new report indicates that nearly half of smartphone users these days are using their devices to aid in their shopping experiences. Forty-seven percent of smartphone users are using their phones to do something called “showroom” which means that they are looking for items to buy on their smartphones while they are already out shopping.

In addition to using the phones to showroom, the same report says that nearly half (47 percent) of users are reading customer and product reviews while they are out shopping. More than a third of people who take their phones with them on a shopping trip are going to be price checking other retailer’s websites. This means that while someone is shopping in a Best Buy, they are looking up the same kind of items they are looking at on Amazon.com or Target’s website.

One boon for retailers that have a vibrant website is that more and more users are actively shopping online with their smartphones if they are at a brick and mortar store and they find that an item they wanted is out of stock. That becomes a situation where a company doesn’t have to lose a sale, even if the store the shopper is in doesn’t have the stock.

The best news for smartphone users is that there doesn’t appear to be a model where the prevailing habits don’t occur. That means that both Android and iPhone handsets are being used to showroom and shop while are out and about running their errands. E-commerce is making leaps and bounds when it comes to mobile devices, according to the company that put this new report together, eDigitalResearch. The report also indicates that more people are making spur of the moment purchases when they are outside the home. That’s only good news for retailers and smartphone companies alike.




Edited by Ryan Sartor


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