Britain set for a multi-screen Christmas

In the run up to the festive retail frenzy, we’ve undertaken research that shows the extent to which mobile devices are starting to take over our purchase behaviour.

Our study, carried out in conjunction with Onepoll, asked a number of questions to smartphone owners across the UK and indicated a clear change in the attitude of the UK public to purchasing via mobile devices.

Some of the headline stats which came through in the research were:

• Over 70% aged 18-34 are regular smartphone purchasers, having made purchases via their devices in recent months.
• Of the people surveyed, over half have also made smartphone purchases in the same period.
• 75% of this mobile purchasing is done at home, proving it’s not just on-the-go consumers who are choosing a mobile device for their retail experience.
• Showrooming is not going away: 50% of respondents are using their mobiles to perform a price comparison on a product they are looking at in store. This figure rises to 67% for under 34s.
• Smartphone purchases are not just low value. 27% stated the value of their purchases were £40 and over, with 2% stating their highest was over £600.

These figures represent a huge potential shift in recent years.

According to research conducted by Foolproof, only 24% of people undertook showrooming over Christmas 2012 – so we’ll be set for record-breaking growth in this trend once the dust settles on Christmas 2014.

The survey also showed some interesting regional differences in mobile purchasing habits.

• Showrooming is most prevalent in London and the West Midlands, where up to 60% of respondents claimed to regular price compare whilst in store.
• The North East is the leading region in terms of mobile device usage for research purposes, and purchases on a smartphone.
• Northern Ireland leads the way on purchases on a tablet device.

The data the survey has produced shows the extent to which mobile devices are transforming consumer purchase habits, either directly as the purchasing device, or indirectly through showrooming.

The opportunity for retailers to get their multi-screen strategy right has never been greater, and at the same time the threat for those that don’t has never been as severe.

If you wish to get access to the full data gather through the survey then please contact us and we will be in touch.

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