Half of Mobile Internet Users Have Used a Mobile Device to Make a Major Purchase

NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers are slowly becoming more comfortable with their mobile purchasing habits.  According to a new study by Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE), half of mobile internet users have used a mobile device to make a major financial purchase, such as getting a mortgage, buying a car or investing in stocks.

Consumers most likely to have made a large transaction on their mobile device were between the ages of 30 and 49 (58% have done so).  Despite their tech-savvy reputation, only 46% of millennials (18-29 year-olds) have purchased major items on a mobile device.  That's only slightly more than people age 50 and older.

"There's evidence that Americans are growing more comfortable with using mobile devices to make purchases either online or at the checkout," says Mike Cetera, mobile finance analyst for Bankrate.com. "But we were curious whether people are using their phones to do more than buy a cup of coffee. This survey shows there are people willing to make major financial commitments over their phone or tablet."

Although mobile purchases are growing, Americans are moving cautiously.  The survey found that only 12% "always" or "often" use a phone or tablet for larger purchases.  Seniors appear to be the most reluctant to make large mobile transactions; over 6 in 10 have never made a big-ticket purchase this way.

Data security was named as the biggest concern among those who don't regularly use mobile devices for financial transactions.  Older Americans were far more likely to cite security fears as their primary reason not to use a mobile device to conduct major financial transactions.  53% of respondents 65 and older expressed this concern, while just 34% of millennials said this was the main reason to avoid large mobile transactions.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PRSAI) and can be seen in its entirety here:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/ready-to-buy-a-car-with-your-smartphone.aspx

PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,001 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (500) and cell phone (501, including 316 without a landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from December 18 – 21, 2014. Of those interviewed, 657 said they were mobile internet users. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

About Bankrate, Inc.
Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com, InsuranceQuotes.com and Caring.com, our flagship websites, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, Insweb.com, CreditCards.ca, and NetQuote.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets, Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 100 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

For more information:
Kayleen Yates
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
[email protected] 
(917) 368-8677

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SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.

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