Mobile Research and App Usage in Brick-and-Mortar Retail Stores

Smart consumers use their mobile devices to check for in-store coupons and discounts, and to read product reviews. This poses a real  threat to retail stores, as it enables shoppers visiting brick-and-mortar locations to compare  the competition’s selection and prices online.

As part of their research for their Omnichannel Winners of the Top 500 report, Internet Retailer conducted a survey of 200 U.S. consumers that have recently purchased a product online in order to discover how consumers are taking advantage of retailers’ omnichannel capabilities. The survey revealed interesting insights into how shoppers use their devices in-store:

To counter the threat that retailers feel from the overwhelming amount of information available to consumers online, big retailers have invested heavily into creating their own apps to keep their shoppers away from the competition. 45% of survey respondents say they have used such an app in the past year:

The report also includes data on purchasing online and picking up in-store, returning online purchases in person, and the online vs in-store purchase history of those surveyed.
Read the full report.