Survey: Three-in-four shoppers use mobile in-store

ATLANTA — Purchases in brick-and-mortar stores still accounted for more than 94% of all retail sales in the United States last year, totaling $4.4 trillion. But according to the new “Reality of Retail” report from retail marketing firm InReality, consumers are shifting their in-store shopping habits.

 

For example, 75% of surveyed shoppers use mobile devices in-store, with 25% making mobile in-store purchases. Perhaps reflecting this increased reliance on mobile technology to support store activities, only 12% of shoppers feel the in-store sales associate is an important touch point in a purchase decision.

 

However, consumers are still regularly performing old-fashioned in-store research. Fifty-three percent of shoppers surveyed prefer to research products in-store. Surprisingly, 57% of shoppers surveyed in the “digital native” 18-to-24-year-old group prefer to research in-store.

 

Other findings include:

 

• 56% of shoppers still think advertising is important to their purchase decision in-store.

 

• 46% of shoppers who use loyalty programs consider them to be important in their decision to purchase.

 

• 71% of shoppers who use loyalty programs still use their mobile for price comparisons.

 

The Reality of Retail Survey was conducted in December 2014 and collected a total of 1,361 survey responses across 11 retail categories.