UK shoppers hold deals in the palm of their hands, quite literally, this Christmas, with more than half using mobile devices to do price comparison on gifts while in store.
Research from tecmark finds that 50% of UK shoppers will shop around for the cheapest price while out and about Christmas shopping by using their mobile / tablet to check competitor prices – the same study in 2012 found it was 24%.
Under 35s are the most ‘handy’ shoppers, with 67% finding the best deal on a handheld device while out shopping. Over 35s are less likely to look for a better price for a product using their phone whilst on the move, finds the study.
In the run-up to the Christmas shopping season, multi-screen marketing agency tecmark asked consumers how they planned to tackle Christmas gift lists. The data showed that smart phones are making us smarter shoppers, with Brits now twice as likely to look at a gift in a shop before checking online for the best price as they were in 2012.
Commenting on the data, tecmark managing director Richard Heyes explains: “The data gives us a fantastic insight into how advances in technology are affecting consumer shopping habits. It confirms that showrooming is growing at speed, especially amongst the younger generations – this is a trend that we expect to become common practice in time and one that retailers need to be prepared for. Consumers are becoming very clever at utilising the tools that mobile phone technology affords and have quickly realised that something as simple as an online price comparison can result in significant savings.”
Tecmark is a Manchester-based multiscreen digital agency. Survey results are available here
