Mobile Phones Now Used In 6.8% Of Store Purchases

Deloitte have released figures showing that 6.8% of in-store sales are now driven by mobile influence. Businesses have long been aware that mobile phones are playing a bigger and more important in the purchasing process, but these recent figures may come as a surprise. Not only are consumers more likely to purchase products and items directly through mobile commerce channels, but the modern generation of smartphones are being used increasingly as a means to drive in-store shopping decisions too.

The Deloitte Survey

More than 2,000 random consumers were surveyed in a variety of shops regarding how they use their mobile devices as part of the retail shopping experience.

According to the results, 6.8% of people rely on their mobiles either before or during the purchasing process. There will have been an estimated £18bn of mobile influenced store sales in 2013, from a total of £261bn of in-store sales.

Mobile is becoming even more important than ever to the modern retail business.

Universal Commerce

Many businesses treat their physical retail and mobile commerce efforts as being separate and independent. Budgets are set separately, while there are different departments within an organisation that deal with each. The figures from Deloitte would indicate that this may no longer prove to be the best approach.

A company should be treating a customer’s retail experience as a single, unified campaign. Consumers are accessing mobile commerce sites, and mobile sites, before and during the purchasing process and by combining both channels it will be possible for businesses to enjoy greater sales and revenues.

Mobile Influence Creates Driven Consumers

Not only did the results show that mobile use was on the increase, but they also showed that mobile driven consumers were likely to spend more, and were more likely to make a purchase.

Only 37% of people that did not use a smartphone made a purchase with an average spend of £51.60. 

In contrast, 61% of shoppers that used their mobile before visiting the shop made a purchase and spent £65.60. 

For those that used their mobile while in the shop, 63% completed a purchase and their average spend was an impressive £93.10

When Do Shoppers Use Their Mobiles?

There are a number of ways in which the modern shopper uses their mobile phones. Using a phone before visiting the shops would indicate that a person is looking for the best deal, or trying to find a shop that sells the specific product they are looking for. This is borne out by the fact that such a high percentage of people using their devices before shopping made a purchase. Consumers can also use their phones while in the shop, either to look for reviews of products, or to determine if they can get a better price elsewhere. 

Mobile Is The Future Of Retail

When it comes to those that said they use their mobiles either before or while visiting the shop, the majority of positive responses were from the younger age groups, those aged between 18 and 24. This means that, as the mobile aware consumer ages and new generations grow up, the influence of mobile phones in stores will only increase. Deloitte predicts that mobile influence will be as high as 15% by the year 2017.

Optimising For Mobile

The increasing likelihood that shoppers in your store will use their mobile phones to influence their buying decisions means that you need to provide a universal, mobile and retail approach. Ensure that you have a website that is optimised for mobile, and look for ways in which you can increase interaction with your mobile site from your visitors. Find ways to reach customers on their mobile as they enter the store by considering the use of apps or even NFC based offers and discounts.

If you would like to find out more about developing a mobile optimised Drupal website then speak to one of the Iconic Digital team today.