Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Most consumers (85%) globally say that they have used their smartphone in-store, according to the DigitasLBi Connected Commerce study.

This is an increase from 72% just a year ago.

And it’s not only using a smartphone in a store but the rather the impact it’s having.

The majority (55%) of smartphone users say the Internet and smartphones have changed the way they shop in a store.

Perhaps more significantly, 77% of Internet users have been influenced by mobile during the purchase process....

Eyeballs have been shifting aggressively to mobile in recent years but the bucks - at least for ecommerce - remained anchored to the desktop. That is now changing according to a new study by Criteo.

The advertising optimization platform analyzed individual transaction data covering over $130 billion of annual sales across more than 3,000 online retailers and travel advertisers recently and discovered that across its extensive network mobile now accounts for almost 30 per cent of ecommerce transactions.

And the company predicts that it will reach 50 per cent in the US in the near term.Criteo also outlines what it sees as five new mobile shopping trends....

The holidays are almost upon us, and recent surveys confirm what many business owners have suspected: social commerce, and the use of mobile channels, is increasing and will have a huge impact on 2014 holiday shopping behaviors. The shift toward social shopping highlights trends that impact both business-to-consumer and business-to-business (B2B) purchasing.

As reported by MarketingLand, mobile and social channels will play a significant role in holiday shopping this year. In an online survey of 1,000 smartphone owners, sponsored by MarketLive.com, one in three shoppers stated they plan to make more than 50 percent of purchases via mobile devices. Thirty percent of respondents reported having made a purchase as a direct result of “engagement with a social networking site” within the past year. This is up from 18 percent the previous year.

And, as consumers become increasingly web and mobile-savvy, and vocal in their online reviews of their likes and dislikes, we will begin to see what some are describing as the “consumerization” of business-to-business purchasing behavior. So, while not all consumer shopping activities translate to the B2B purchasing model, many do....

Brands with both a physical and digital presence make almost 30% more in revenue. Consumers report a higher level of satisfaction with brands that have both a brick-and-mortar and online store, according to a recent study. Legacy brands who once hailed shopping malls as their “mecca” are now having to close shop, and once-startup, online-only brands, including Warby Parker and Birchbox, are moving in and opening their doors. Department and chain stores, in an effort to remain relevant, are spending upward of $4 billion on ecommerce platforms, redesigns, loyalty programs and in-store technology to keep consumers connected at all times.

There are plenty of ecommerce sites running fully functioning, profitable operations sans a physical footprint. And, there are also plenty of boutiques, even legacy luxury brands, whom avoid the ecommerce industry, focusing instead on offering a local clientele exclusive, one-of-a-kind products.

What is it then that makes multi-channel retailers of all sizes more successful than their solo-channel counterparts? Simple: a consumer-wide shift in shopping habits....

Consumers continue to use digital coupons to stretch their dollars. eMarketer forecasts that digital coupon users, which include internet users ages 18 and older who redeem a digital coupon or code via any device for online or offline shopping at least once per year, will account for 55.0% all US internet users in 2014.

The digital coupon audience is a relatively mature group, but there's still room for modest growth over the next few years.

Mobile coupon users are making up a growing portion of the larger digital coupon audience as more consumers make in-home purchases via smartphone and tablet and as more shoppers use a mobile device to enhance their in-store experiences.

eMarketer expects the number of adults who redeem coupons via mobile device for either online or offline shopping to rise from 78.69 million to 104.11 million between 2014 and 2016, or from 70.0% to 82.0% of all digital couponers....

What, you ask, is that crashing noise? It's the sound of consumer resistance to mobile shopping crumbling. “Every single transactional property on mobile—whether that's Uber, or Hotel Tonight—is lowering the barrier to make significant transactions on your mobile phone,” says David Tisch. If you can hail a ride and book a room, why would not also want to buy a car or lease an apartment?

That's what Tisch is betting on, anyway. He and his brother Alan are the co-founders of Spring, an app that debuted this fall trying to bring the entire world of fashion—high and low—to your phone. Of the more than 250 brands represented on Spring, most are middle-of-the-road, labels like Reformation and Vince, and almost half of the products Spring carries fall into the $100-$500 price range. Unlike a lot of other entrants into the mobile e-commerce (aka "m-commerce") space, however, Spring also offers a deep selection of offering from the low and high ends of the fashion spectrum, from Levi's to Carolina Herrera, putting Spring in a class virtually all its own....