December 6, 2010

Smartphone Enabled Consumers to Shop Smarter this Holiday Season
Retailers, How Are Mobile Phones At Work In Your Stores?

STAMFORD, CT -- December 6, 2010 -- InsightExpress, a leading digital marketing research firm, released today results of their latest Digital Consumer Portrait study exploring the holiday shopping behaviors of smartphone owners.

With smartphone owners comprising 30 percent of the mobile enabled universe within individuals age 18+, and device ownership increasing each quarter, new behaviors are beginning to emerge that make us stand up and take notice.

Retailers be forewarned: smartphone owners are using their phone to shop much smarter this holiday season. Gone are the days of gift givers cruising the internet in preparation for their annual shopping adventure. Armed with a smartphone, consumers now have a digital shopping buddy in their back pocket.

As a result of consumers equipped with smartphone devices, holiday shoppers will use the technology now at their fingertips to get better deals, comparison shop and increase their overall satisfaction with the shopping experience.

Study data revealed that during this holiday season, 29 percent of all smartphone owners intend to use their device to look for a better price, 23 percent will be looking for product reviews, 22 percent will receive sale alerts and 20 percent will search for products at another store. Shoppers also plan to make use of additional features such as mobile barcode scanning technology (19 percent) and coupons received on their phones (19 percent).

The research also showed that shoppers intend to employ their smartphone cameras, with 34 percent planning to take pictures of products in store and 25 percent planning to send pictures to other people to solicit opinions.

It's worth noting that 56 percent of smartphone owners have visited a retail Web site and, of that group, another 56 percent indicate that they were either happy or very happy with the experience. However, if given the choice between visiting a Web site on a mobile phone or downloading an application to shop or browse a retailer, consumers are torn. Among smartphone owners, 48 percent prefer to visit a mobile Web site and 38 percent prefer a mobile application. The key lesson for retailers, both during the holiday season and long after the eggnog is gone, is don't make consumers pick. You need to have both a Web presence and a downloadable application.

"Mobile devices continue to be a most welcomed technology in our lives," said Joy Liuzzo, Senior Director, Mobile Research at InsightExpress. "The 'power of the palm' is firmly established in our everyday existence and the adoption of smartphones empowers us to be more knowledgeable consumers. Successful retailers will embrace this knowledge sharing by giving consumers the mobile information they expect."

About the Research
In our commitment to providing industry leading education within the mobile space, InsightExpress developed the Digital Consumer Portrait. This study was conducted in November 2010 among 1,300 respondents that reflect a representative sample of the online US population. Previous topic areas for Digital Consumer Portrait studies include the acceptance of advertising in social networking, mobile behaviors, and consumer economic feedback.

About InsightExpress
InsightExpress is a leading provider of digital marketing research solutions, specializing in the measurement of advertising and brand communications. The company's proven approaches include message evaluation, advertising effectiveness, creative development and cross-media optimization. With vast industry expertise, proprietary methodologies and an exclusive platform, InsightExpress helps agencies, media and marketers optimize marketing initiatives across online, mobile and other media. Founded in 1999, InsightExpress is headquartered in Stamford, CT, with offices in San Francisco and New York. For more information, please visit us at www.insightexpress.com or call 203.406.3233.