Increasing, The Use of Mobile Phones for Shopping

Digilifes News - A growing number of consumers worldwide used their mobile phones to help them shop early in the holiday season, with use particularly high among young adults seeking coupons, according to a study sponsored by the U.S. mobile phones maker Motorola.

Consumers used their phones for comparison shopping, to take photos of items they were considering buying or gain access to online coupons, among other activities, according to the survey, which included about 4,500 shoppers and was conducted between Nov.25 and Dec.20 by e-Rewards and TNS International.

Respondents from the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, India and China participated in the widest survey Motorola has yet conducted on the topic, with about 45 percent U.S. residents. Use of mobile phones for shopping was highest in Asia, at 78 percent, and lowest in Canada and the United States, at 45.1 percent, the survey found.

Among consumers between the ages of 18 and 34, 64 percent had used their mobile phones while shopping in the preceding two weeks; about a third of people older than 50 had used mobile phones. Across countries and ages, more than half did.
While comparable data from previous years were unavailable, Motorola said there had been a surge in the use of smartphones while shopping.

Source: New York Times