Mobile Commerce: Consumers Raise Expectations

Consumers expect a seamless shopping experience when shopping via mobile. According to the fourth annual consumer survey focused on how consumers want to interact with retailers from Sterling Commerce, consumers are increasing their expectations when shopping on their mobile devices.

The survey found a dramatic gap exists in mobile usage between the 18-44 and 45-64 age groups demonstrate that mobile shopping trends will increase and drive cross-channel demands.

According to the survey:

· On average, 33 percent of respondents aged 18-44 years old were likely to access information about a product from their mobile device while in the store, where less than half that number (an average 14 percent) of respondents aged 45-64 would.

· When asked about comparing prices via their mobile device, 35 percent of respondents aged 18-44 years were likely to use this feature compared to 20 percent of respondents aged 45-64.

· On average, 31 percent of respondents aged 18-44 years old would check to see if an item was in stock via their mobile device while only 19 percent of respondents aged 45-64 years old would use a mobile device for this reason.

Other findings of the survey continued to highlight consumers' desire to link the online and physical experience, especially among women and "high-value" consumer groups (higher-income consumers and college graduates). The survey found that:

· Eighty-four percent of respondents want to have the ability to buy an item online and return to a physical store, while 67 percent want the ability to order online and pickup in a store.

· Fifty-six percent of in-store shoppers have gone online to do research or look at an item before purchasing it in a store. For consumers with household incomes above $75,000, the number rose to 73 percent and college graduates were 76 percent.

· Women were more likely to exhibit cross-channel shopping behavior with 59 percent of female respondents saying they had researched an item online before purchasing. Forty-five percent had an item delivered to their home and nearly one in ten women surveyed reported they had returned an item purchased online to the store.

The survey, which polled 1,024 adults between January 7 and 10, 2010 on their shopping habits over the past three months, can be downloaded by clicking here.