inMarket: 55 Percent of In-Store Mobile Moments Directly Impact the Purchase Decision

Just eight percent occur via retailers' own apps; four percent involve social media

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Nov 02, 2016, 10:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile moments -- defined as when a person consults their phone for information -- play a clear and powerful role in shoppers' in-store routines, according to a new study from inMarket, the world's largest beacon platform.

The inMarket study examined a sample of 2,500 shoppers -- including its platform audience of 50MM comScore-verified monthly active users and beyond in stores -- from July through September, 2016.

inMarket: How Shoppers Use Mobile In-Store

The study identified three prevailing use-cases of mobile in-store: Shopping activities (55 percent); messaging unrelated to shopping (14 percent); and listening to music (12 percent). Shoppers were three times more likely to use their phones for a purchase-related task, versus other tasks.

Shopping activities were defined as using a shopping list, reviews, recipes or price comparison app, or communicating about what to purchase. Among shoppers who were using mobile to help their purchase decision, 28 percent were actively looking at their shopping list on their phone, while 14 percent were texting or calling someone about what to buy.

Only eight percent of shoppers were using a retailer's own app in the respective store, magnifying retailers' continued challenge to find the right digital conduit to their customers when it matters most.

Messaging unrelated to shopping -- the second highest in-store use-case -- included both SMS and apps, but did not include social media platforms. Social media on its own accounted for just four percent of in-store mobile usage. Similarly, mobile games and podcasts accounted for just one percent of mobile moments each. While social, gaming and podcasts are hugely popular mobile use-cases outside of the store, there are indications that in-store is a different environment where consumers are focused on the shopping task at hand.

"Since we launched inMarket in 2010, we've watched mobile usage skyrocket in stores and tangibly impact purchase decisions as consumers' expectations have moved to omnichannel experiences. With this study, we sought to learn what drives consumers' mobile usage in store -- and what's having the biggest impact," said Todd Dipaola, CEO, inMarket. "Today, it's clear: People aren't using social or gaming in stores. They're using the device as a concierge tool to improve shopping experiences and decisions."

Targeting mobile moments in-store -- through location tools like beacons -- have grown in interest and budget for major advertisers, with brands Heineken, Energizer and Clorox running in-store mobile campaigns leading to measurable ROI in 2016.

About inMarket
inMarket is the world's largest in-store beacon platform, reaching over 50MM shoppers per month in tens of thousands of locations. Since 2010, inMarket's beacon platform has driven millions of purchases in brick-and-mortar stores. Hundreds of brands and major retailers have leveraged inMarket to engage target audiences at their most receptive moments: before and while they shop. inMarket is headquartered in Venice, CA with offices in NYC and Chicago. For more information, please visit www.inMarket.com.

Contact:
Dave Heinzinger
VP, Communications
[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161102/435283-INFO

SOURCE inMarket