Half Of U.S. Holiday Shoppers Used Smartphones For Decision Making
According to a report by Pew Internet & American Life Project, half of shoppers during the 2011 holiday season used their phone while in store to help aid them in their purchasing decision.
The report said that during a 30 day period before and after Christmas, 38 percent of cell phone owners used their phone to call a friend while they were in store for advice about a purchase they were considering.
It said that 24 percent of cell phone owners used their phone to look up reviews of a product online while they were in a store, and 25 percent looked up prices of the product to see if they could find it cheaper somewhere else.
Pew said that 33 percent of cell phone owners used their phone specifically for online information while inside a physical store.
Over 52 percent of those surveyed said they had used their phone for at least one of the three reasons over the holiday season.
It found that those who live in the city are twice as likely to use their phones to look up product reviews than rural cell users.
Women were slightly more likely to use their device to call a friend than men, while men were more likely than women to look up product reviews.
Of those surveyed who used their cell phone to look up product reviews and price shop, 37 percent of people decided not to buy a product, 35 percent bought it in the store, 19 percent ended up ordering it online, and 8 percent got it at another store.
Pew’s survey involved 1,000 adults living in the U.S., 600 of which were conducted through landline, and 400 through a cell phone.
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