FESTIVE SEASON SHOPPING

Rising number of global shoppers will use retailers’ mobile apps

By our News Team | 2021

Seven-nation study finds more consumers than ever will make use of retailer-specific mobile phone apps this holiday season.

To shed light on changing consumer behaviours and preferences for the crucial holiday shopping season around the world, the international mobile app experience company Airship recently partnered with Sapio Research to survey more than 9 000 consumers across three regions and seven countries.

These countries included the emerging markets of Singapore and India, as well as the developed markets of the US, UK, France, Germany and Australia.

Globally, 48% of respondents expect to do three-quarters or more of their holiday shopping online, and a nearly equal percent (47%) say that three-quarters or more of their online shopping will be done using smartphones rather than desktops. Among respondents saying 100% of their holiday shopping will be online, the U.K. comes in on top at 20%, followed by India (18%) and then the U.S. (16%).

Photo by Cottonbro from Pexels

App downloading is not a barrier to usage

For most countries and generations, the likelihood of using a retailer’s app while shopping in-store is only a few percentage points behind visiting the retailer’s website, despite people having to first download an app from the App Store or Google Play.

Indeed, 81% of Millennials have used retail apps more, or about the same, since the pandemic began, followed by 77% of Gen X, 74% of Gen Z and 66% of Baby Boomers.

“Consumers are clearly developing a preference for mobile apps as the primary destination to save them time and streamline their shopping experiences – from in-store wayfinding to click-and-collect and curb-side (pavement) pickup,” said Brett Caine, CEO and President of Airship.

“For retailers, apps offer better opportunities to truly understand their customers and form stronger direct relationships, as it’s much easier to tie together their digital and physical activities and engage [consumers] throughout their journey with the brand.”

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