5/3/2013
Consumers who research products on mobile devices while shopping in retail stores (“showroomers”) are most likely to look for information on online-only retailer websites, such as Amazon, or on manufacturers’ websites, according to ClickIQ. The most common method of looking for product information in-store via mobile is an Internet search using a browser. Shoppers are more than twice as likely to research products by online search as they are to do so by scanning UPC codes (the next most common method).
Smartphones are the devices of choice for in-store product research (91% of showroomers use them). A quarter (25%) use tablets (multiple responses allowed), and 15% use either a feature phone or basic cell phone.
Showroomers are most likely to access the Internet for product research in-store through their wireless providers’ networks (77%). They’re equally likely to connect through a nearby retailer’s Wi-Fi network or the network of the store they’re shopping in (68% each; multiple responses allowed). Two-thirds (66%) say the product information they needed was already on their device before they entered the store.
Price comparisons and product reviews are the types of information most commonly researched via mobile while shopping in-store. More than six in 10 showroomers (64%) say sales tax has at least some influence on their purchase decisions; 22% say it has a great deal of influence.
When asked what they’d do if, while researching a product they were considering buying in-store, they found it at a lower price online, 55% say they’d ask the store to match the price, while 40% would buy it online. Among those who’d buy online, 60% say they’d do so because it’s too big of a hassle to ask the store to price-match, 56% say it’s easier to buy online because the item gets shipped directly to them, and 46% say the online price would still be better because they don’t have to pay sales tax.
Showroomers who buy online are most likely to make these purchases via laptop (34%) or desktop (28%) computer, though 25% buy directly from their smartphones and 10% from their tablets.
Source: “IQ Insights: Showrooming 2013,” February 2013, ClickIQ, Robert Boese, VP Sales & Operations, 2001 Killebrew Dr., #114, Bloomington, MN 55425; 952-224-0811; robertb@clickiqinc.com; www.clickiqinc.com. This report is available exclusively through EPM Communications, a division of BVR. For more information or to purchase, call 212-941-0099; or go to www.epmcom.com. Price: $995.
© 2013 Business Valuation Resources, LLC (BVR). May not be reproduced without written consent of publisher.