Recent data from comScore shows that four out of five U.S. smartphone users visit retail sites from their mobile device. The study looked at mobile retail visitors throughout the month of July 2012. “With nearly 86 million Americans now shopping on their smartphones, this pronounced shift in consumer behavior is simply too large for retailers to ignore, with the future of their business depending on how well they adapt to the new environment,” said Mark Donovan, comScore’s SVP of mobile. And he’s right: studies show that ignoring the trend only leads to unhappy mobile visitors.
Smartphone Shopper Demographics
Demographically speaking, smartphone shoppers are “younger than their desktop counterparts with 70.7% of smartphone retail visitors under the age of 45 compared to 61.1% of desktop users.” Mobile shoppers are also more affluent than desktop shoppers; 1 in 3 smartphone shoppers had a household income of $100,000 or greater.
Top Mobile Retailers
The top U.S. mobile retailer is Amazon, and by no small margin. eBay and Apple also make the top three, followed by big box retailers Wal-Mart an Target. Home improvement is another popular mobile shopping category, as The Home Depot and Lowes both made the top 15 list. Popular ecommerce craft site Etsy came in at number 15, with over 3,000 mobile shoppers in July of 2012.
