Smartphones have changed the way that many people live their lives, but perhaps nothing has changed more than shopping. People are shopping much differently than before smartphones become mainstream. Not only are shoppers making more informed decisions, but they are using the Internet for comparison shopping and online purchases.
Highlights of Contents
Coupons and Discounts
Smartphones allow people to receive coupons and discounts much faster than before. This is because people can access mobile coupon apps, comparison shopping apps and social media feeds and emails from the store all at once with a mobile device. This has allowed shoppers to quickly save money, making them more willing to go into a store or shop online through their smartphone.
Mobile Ads
Mobile ads are becoming more popular because many people are using smartphones to browse the Internet. Many studies have shown that about 25 percent of shoppers were prompted to enter a store because of a mobile ad. The ad might have given them a coupon or made them think about shopping, but the fact is that a significant number of people are influenced to start shopping from mobile ads.
Reviews and Comparisons
These devices allow people to do a significant amount of research before buying something. In the past, most people would just buy a product and hope that it performed adequately. This was especially true with impulse buys. Now that everyone has the Internet in the palm of their hands, this has drastically changed.
Many people will browse for reviews to see how good the product is. This can both increase and decrease the number of products that someone buys based on the reviews. This has also made many review websites a lot of money since they get income from visitors.
Comparison shopping is also much easier. There are many apps that allow the user to scan the barcode to see if the same product is cheaper somewhere else. Since this can be done in a few seconds and consumers are influenced by price, many businesses are doing their best to lower prices to appeal to buyers.
Less Physical Buying
People aren’t buying products from physical stores as often. In fact, many smartphone users are just using stores to see what the product looks or feels like. For example, the smartphone user will go to a clothing store to try on a shirt, but he or she will buy the same shirt online since it’s cheaper. Nearly 50 percent of adults are doing this and mobile sales have increased by about 40 percent in the last year.
Find Items
While physical buying has decreased, many people are using their smartphones to find products in stores. Research has shown that people don’t like asking employees about product availability, but they love doing this with their mobile devices. This has influenced people to visit certain stores if their inventory is easy to access with a smartphone.
Conclusion
Smartphones have dramatically changed the way that people shop. Not only are people using comparison shopping and mobile coupon apps to save money, but they are also using online reviews to make informed buying decisions.
