While almost 50% of Canadians plan to use their smartphones to help them out with their holiday shopping this year, which is up 7% from last year, only 12% of those will actually end up completing a transaction to buy a gift using their mobile phone, according to a research by Google Canada (via Financial Post).
The data reveals that 53% users plan to use a mobile device to look up information about a purchase, 43% plan to use GPS or location-based features of holiday shopping and 37% will download an application to help them with their shopping. Google’s research also found that consumers are using their smartphones to perform additional research about products while in store, with 50% saying they use their phones to look up more information about a product they are considering purchasing while standing inside a retailer.
“It’s a vital device,” said Richard Trinder, head of industry tech and telco for Google Canada.
“This is where businesses and advertisers need to get smart. The mobile phone helps consumers make decisions, whether it’s comparing products, comparing prices, being informed or being informed on the go … it’s the key device that runs your life, let alone your shopping life.”
Unfortunately, many Canadian retailers still have something of a “chewing gum” problem, with roughly 68% of people saying that a poor experience with a retailer’s mobile Website will negatively impact their buying decision. “A retailer or a supermarket will not let a piece of used chewing gum stay on the shop floor, because that ruins the consumer experience,” he said.
Looks like the smartphone has now become an indispensable shopping accessory for majority of Canadians, isn’t it?
