More than half of consumers use mobile apps in-store, but not necessarily to buy things.
According to “Surviving the Retail Apocalypse,” a new survey of more than 1,000 consumers of all ages from Yes Marketing, 57% of consumers have used a retailer’s mobile app while shopping in the store. The top three reasons respondents offered in-store mobile app usage all revolved around obtaining discounts: redeeming coupons (65%), finding coupons (57%) and locating items that are on sale (46%).
Meanwhile, only 33% of surveyed consumers prefer to make purchases on smartphones. Instead, they would rather use tablet and desktop (49%) for a more frictionless purchasing experience.
"To survive the retail apocalypse, retailers need to prioritize the mobile experience," said Jim Sturm, president of Yes Marketing. "Consumers will not hesitate to turn to another brand if it offers a more user-friendly experience. Retailers can bridge the mobile-to-store experience by introducing apps that support the in-store shopping with features like maps of store layouts and access to product ratings."
Other survey findings include:
• Half of respondents (49%) say visually appealing stores would motivate them to shop at a brick-and-mortar location.
• Centennials (consumers born after 2000) are more likely than all other generations to shop in stores for visually appealing displays (58%), while Millennials are most interested in local events (36%) and additional services (42%).
• Nearly all consumers (90%) purchase in stores at least monthly, and 60% say they shop in stores because they want to see items in person.