According to a report from Deloitte Digital, a global, full-service digital agency, consumers who use a smartphone or other digital device during their shopping journey are converting at a rate 40 % higher than those who do not use a device.
The report estimates mobile commerce sales to reach USD 40 billion, stressing how mobile’s influence is more significant on in-store behavior than ecommerce sales.
With 90 % of retail sales happening in bricks-and-mortar stores, key findings from the report include that 84 % of store visitors use their devices before or during a shopping trip and 22 % of consumers spend more as a result of using digital, with just over half of these shoppers reporting spending at least 25 % more than they had intended.
Additionally, 75 % of respondents said product information found on social channels influenced their shopping behavior and enhanced loyalty.
The report also revealed that, for example, retailers might regard online shopping cart abandonment as a failed conversion when it may actually represent a customer who started a wish list in the online basket, but chose to purchase the items in the store.
Looking at the digital space more broadly, Deloitte found that digital interactions influence nearly USD 1.1 trillion in in-store sales. That number is expected to reach 50 % of every dollar spent by the end of 2014 or USD 1.5 trillion in sales.
For example, the report found that 80 % of consumers prefer to obtain product information on their own device or from an in-store device such as kiosk rather than ask a sales associate.
Digital’s influence is highest in specialty stores, with devices influencing 58 % of store sales in the electronics/appliance category, 56 % for furniture and 50 % for sporting goods.
Digital devices influence 35 % of sales in the health/personal care/drug store category, 29 % in grocery and 23 % in general merchandise/department/warehouse club stores.
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