Influence of Smart Phones on Buying Behavior

06-Sep-13

Submitted By, Abhishek M (F12001) Jebin M S (F12025) Marshall N (F12033) Swathipriya V (F12054)

Technology has taken human lives by storm. The ubiquity of the on-the-go internet has been truly revolutionary. Low personal income is no longer an impediment for people to possess a mobile phone. This has led to a situation of literally everyone having a mobile phone, and growing numbers use it to browse the internet. This process is radicalizing how consumers shop by offering them real-time intelligence about price and value-for-money at the point of sale. It also prompts retailers to open new forms of real-time dialogue with shoppers, as they, for instance, walk through malls. But the main point is that the trend spells the end of the underinformed consumer everywhere. The emerging world of consumers would look to their mobile devices to maximize absolutely every moment. A hectic, urban lifestyles would mean more of consumers going the smart phone way to shop and buy things on the go. The coming years would see an explosion in MOBILE MOMENTS: products, services and experiences that will enable mobile-loving consumers to embrace the smart phone technology to do their daily shopping. Whether they plan on buying online or from a brick n mortar location, shoppers first want to know what they are going in for. It is a growing trend these days to whip out your iPad or smartphone and swipe at the touch screen to find the information you need to qualify the potential purchase. This just-in-time knowledge is having severe ramifications on how marketers successfully reach out to consumers. The proliferation of shopping apps and mobile-enabled websites has added to the power of the consumer, who can look up reviews, make price comparisons and download coupons in real-time via their mobiles. In order to stand out, retailers must not only utilize these new innovations, but also understand how consumers engage with them and create highly customer-centric shopping experiences through smart phones. Smartphones are fundamentally changing the consumer purchase experience. From an in-store research tool to a payment device that replaces the wallet to an e-commerce channel,mobile devices are becoming an integral part of the customer journey for many consumers. Thus as a

business, the marketers information needs to be accessible to a smartphone and they have to be top of mind on that medium to establish a place in the minds of the consumers. Men VS Women It is also quite interesting to note that men are more likely than women to shop via their mobiles. According to Global TGI, in many countries, men are leading the way when it comes to mobile shopping. In the US for instance, 16% of men say that they are interested in using their cell phones to make store purchases versus 13% of women.

One very good reason why mobile shopping might hold such appeal for men is that it can streamline the entire process. In the US, 60% of men say that when shopping they 'get what they need and leave', relative to 44% of women. Convenience clearly plays an important role in the mobile shopping experience. Men being gatherers and not hunters prefer the mobile phone experience to shopping as it is quick and convenient. Analysis through Survey Objectives of the survey To find out the usage of smartphones for shopping purposes and find out what they feel about the smartphone based shopping experience To find out if people would shift to smartphone based shopping in the future To analyze the reasons for their responses and relate it to consumer behavior concepts

Some of the statistics of the survey are as follows Number of Respondents: 161 Male Respondents: 108 Female Respondents: 53 Average Age of the participants of the survey: 24

Method used to get data: Through online: 140, Through Face to face interactions: 21 Out of the 161 people surveyed, 148 (92%) owned a smart phone and 54% of those who owned have used it for shopping purposes Men Vs Women Out of the 108 male respondents, 100 own a smart phone. Majority (67%) of the men who owned a smart phone used it for shopping. Out of the 53 female respondents, 48 own a smart phone. But only 42% of the women who owned a smart phone used it for shopping. This is because Women enjoy Shopping by going to the retail outlets, shopping malls etc. than shopping through smartphones Men, on the contrary are hunters (finds what he looks for and buys), hence he prefers smartphone based shopping more compared to women.

Used smartphone for shopping?

80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Female Male 57.69% No Yes 32.38% 67.62%

42.31%

The Smart Phone based shopping Experience 28% of all the respondents who used smartphones for shopping felt that it saved time. 21% of the 200 felt that it was simple to shop using smart phones while 26% felt that they did not feel very comfortable using smartphones for shopping. Smartphone based buying (in ebay etc.) combines the richness of information and large communities with the uncertainty of bargain hunter and auction buyer. 52% of those who used smartphones for shopping said they had used smartphones to find information about the product they are going to shop while or after entering a shop. This shows that Todays Consumers prefer the Cognitive Model where they do a thorough investigation of alternatives and compare them to arrive at the best product suiting their needs and wants. By applying Cognitive model, we find that Customers first get information (Knowledge) about the products they are going to purchase through their smart phones, then they either like or no not like the product based on the information obtained (Feeling) and finally they either buy or do not buy the product based on it (Behavior).

Do you Check for the product information in a smartphone

52.00% 51.50% 51.00% 50.50% 50.00% 49.50% 49.00% 48.50% 48.00% 47.50% 47.00% 51.32%

No 48.68% Yes

Total

Do you Check for the product information in a smartphone - Male and Female respondents
53.00% 52.00% 51.02% 51.00% 50.00% 49.00% 48.00% 47.00% 46.00% 45.00% Female Male 48.98% 47.57% No Yes 52.43%

Knowledge

Feeling

Behavior

Cognitive Model Applied

We also find through the survey that the number of customers who belong to the Economic Person category (Person capable of taking a rational decision based on knowledge of all the alternatives and have a deep involvement in the purchase) is on the rise. Some of the remaining 48% who do not use their smartphones for finding information about the product could belong to the Passive Person category. They are liable to be influenced easily. They dont search much about the products they are going to buy since they dont have patience to do so.

A whopping 77% of the respondents of the survey said they use Internet as their prime source of finding product related information. Customers are Hunting for information through the internet. Customers now have better knowledge of products as they are well informed

Primary sources of Information

90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Total 3.80% 2.53% 12.66% 3.16% 0.63% Newspapers;Internet;PO P displays POP displays 77.22% Internet Internet;POP displays Newspapers Newspapers;Internet

Face to Face Vs Smartphone based shopping 80% of the people surveyed felt that they preferred face to face shopping experience when compared to smart phone based shopping. One reason for this is Indians are Experiential. Indian consumers prefer to go to retail stores because of the Experience they get in shopping. They could see different models, brands etc. and test the products to find out if it satisfies their requirements. They feel that this Experience factor is lacking when they shop through their smart phones.

Preference as customers
90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Total 19.75% Face to face shopping experience Smartphone based shopping experience 80.25%

Preference as customers - male and female respondents

90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Female Male 17.65% 20.75% Face to face shopping experience Smartphone based shopping experience 82.35% 79.25%

Female respondents prefer more face to face shopping experience (82%) than the male respondents (79%).

Future of Smartphone based shopping 59% of the respondents said smartphones would take over the retail space in the future which indicates that shopping through smartphones would get more popular in the future and gain better acceptance. Some of the reasons for this are lack of time due to busy lifestyles and lower cost when one shops online through smartphones than shopping in a retail store.

Will smartphone take over retailing in future?

70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Total 41.40% No Yes 58.60%

Will smartphone tke over retailing in future?male and female respondents

70.00% 60.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% No 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Female Male Yes 44.23% 40.00% 55.77%

Appendix - Questionnaire for the Survey

Survey on the Usage of Smart Phones for Shopping

*Required Gender * Male Female Age *

Do you own a smartphone? * Yes No If yes, have you used it for shopping? Yes No How do you find the smartphone-shopping experience? Simple Saves Time Less choices available Time Consuming Not very comfortable Other: Do you check your smartphone for product information while/after entering a shop? Yes

No What are your primary sources of Shopping related Information search? Newspapers Internet POP displays What do you prefer as consumers? Smartphone based shopping experience Face to face shopping experience Will smart phones take over the retail space in the coming years? Yes No