This multi-phase innovation study included a survey of 909 smartphone owners, ages 20 to 59, from the U.S. and the U.K. Sixty-five percent also owned tablets, making them "dual owners." The survey assessed shoppers' mindsets, motivations, current behaviors and unmet needs around both online and physical retail. Alongside the survey, Latitude also conducted a separate generative, online activity to collect participants' "future requests" for new ways to enhance their shopping experiences, both online and in-store.

The study offers valuable insights to brands, retailers and mobile developers, including: shoppers' unmet needs, best practices for developing mobile retail destinations, and desirable future shopping experiences.

Findings include:

-Mobile Makes Us Smarter, Faster, Better at Shopping. Not surprisingly, saving time and money are key drivers of mobile shopping, but motivations do vary. For example, women tend to appreciate aspects of mobile that lead to more "productive" shopping; they are significantly more likely than men to go mobile because it eliminates waiting in line and because it's something they can do while multi-tasking. On the other hand, men are attracted to mobile because it streamlines shopping by offering better-curated options"”which means fewer items to sift through.

However, the perks of mobile shopping extend beyond just retail experiences. The vast majority (88 percent) of people agree that having a mobile device with real-time information makes them more spontaneous with shopping and, in general, more open to discovering new things.

-In-Store Retail Should Tech Up. Shoppers are craving more from their in-store shopping experiences; they see possibilities to infuse physical stores with mobile and other connected technologies"”to offer product information, mitigate frustrations (e.g., waiting in the check-out line), personalize the experience, and so on. Seventy-nine percent of participants are interested in having digital content (e.g., demo videos, product recommendations, information about a product's origin, etc.) delivered to their mobile phones while shopping in a store.
-Mobile Transactions are Gaining Traction. Not surprisingly, younger generations are leading the charge when it comes to transacting from their mobile devices. Smartphones are selected more often than laptops as a favorite purchasing platform by consumers between the ages 20 to 29.

Additional Findings:

-63 percent of people expect to be doing more shopping on their mobile devices over the next couple years. (Only 3 percent expect to be doing less.)
-81 percent of smartphone owners agree, "because I have a mobile device, I am constantly shopping."

-85 percent report that being able to shop on mobile devices increases the likelihood of actually making a purchase.

-61 percent percent of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience.

-50 percent say that a well-executed, location-aware mobile alert makes them more likely to visit the store soon.

-60 percent of smartphone owners have used a mobile device while shopping in a store.

The complete report is available for download.

Source: Latitude