A new research study has revealed that these shoppers are enjoying the opportunities that smartphone shopping provides.
According to a report that has been published by eMarketer, retailers that are hoping that their holiday shopping sales will be better than ever, this year, will likely want to look into targeting more mobile commerce campaigns toward shoppers within the Hispanic community.
The research revealed that Hispanic shoppers within the United States are using m-commerce to buy.
The eMarketer report revealed that in the U.S., Hispanic consumers have a greater likelihood to make a purchase by way of a smartphone or tablet than their non-Hispanic counterparts. The research was conducted in August and showed that 52 percent of Hispanic shoppers had purchased clothing over mobile commerce within the month prior to the survey. Comparatively, only 38 percent of non-Hispanic shoppers had done the same.
That said, there were many other areas in which Hispanic shoppers used mobile commerce more than non-Hispanics.
Among those areas of m-commerce where Hispanic consumers were shopping more included electronics, music, as well as movie tickets. Moreover, making purchases wasn’t the only shopping activity that was conducted over smartphones and tablets by consumers within this demographic. They were also reading reviews of the products that they were considering (53 percent). Non-Hispanics read reviews over mobile devices only 44 percent of the time.
As Hispanic shoppers informed themselves about products they were considering, they also looked into expert product ratings and not just those left behind by other shoppers. Thirty six percent of shoppers within that ethnic background had searched for the advice of an expert when deciding whether or not they would buy an item or service. Among non-Hispanics, that figure was only 26 percent.
Online videos and social media about products were the two other most important areas where Hispanic shoppers were seeking out information when they were considering a purchase over mobile commerce. That said, among all of the American shoppers, regardless of ethnic background, almost half of the participants in the research had made purchases over a smartphone or tablet during the month previous to the study.
The most common purpose for shopping over smartphones and tablets will be to locate stores.
At a time in which there are scores of holiday shopping forecasts are starting to be released, the consensus appears to be that mobile commerce is going to be one of the most critical components of this vital season, despite the fact that a growing number of consumers will be headed to actual stores in order to make their purchases.
This implies that m-commerce and in-store shopping will complement one another, this year.
This means that it is important for brick and mortar shops to focus on mobile commerce not as its competition, but as a complement to its own ability to make a sale. Smartphones and tablets are set to play a very important role in the complete process of both shopping and decision making. Consumers will use their devices regardless of the fact that they will still go to stores in order to buy what they want.
For this reason, mobile commerce isn’t necessarily an independent shopping channel but one that works with others.
That said, while shoppers are looking to their mobile devices to learn more about the products that they are considering, to compare prices, and to find the places that sell the item, they still often prefer the experience of going to the store and seeing the items in person before they buy them. They also like the opportunity to have the item that they have purchased in their hands, instead of having to wait for it to be delivered.
According to the 2014 holiday shopping study conducted by Deloitte, which included the participation of 5,000 American consumers, the average holiday spending this year will be $1,299, which represents an increase of 13 percent over last year. Among all U.S. consumers 72 percent will be using their smartphones for shopping purposes, though this does not mean online purchases, exclusively. The report on the mobile commerce survey showed that the devices would also be used for the following purposes:
• 58 percent – to find a store location
• 52 percent – to obtain and compare prices
• 48 percent – for browsing products online
• 47 percent – to obtain information about a product
• 44 percent – to read product reviews
• 41 percent – to check the availability of a product
• 41 percent – to obtain sale information, discounts, offers, and coupons
• 36 percent – to use social networks to discuss products
• 35 percent – to purchase a product or service online
• 32 percent – to receive text message based deals from retailers
• 31 percent – to scan barcodes such as QR codes to learn more about a product.
