Mobile shopping was supposed to be lethal to brick-and-mortar retailing, but according to two new studies, it's helping physical stores at least as much as it's hurting. "Out on the streets, more people are going into stores and staying there longer while those who purchase online tend to favor online-only stores, based on two new studies," mCommerceDaily reported October 13.
After tracking smartphones in and near stores and measuring data on tens of millions of US shopping sessions, retail analytics firm Euclid found that smartphone ownership correlates with more, not less, in-store shopping. Since last year, shopping time increased 18 percent, for example, from 22 to 26 minutes. More smartphone owners who pass by stores stop in – a total of 9 percent of pavement traffic. Fewer shoppers are walking out right after they walk in; the number of shoppers who left within five minutes of entering a store dropped by 2 percent. And nearly one in eight shoppers (12 percent) returned to a store within a 30-day period.
A Survey Monkey online survey of 1,000 smartphone owners, for Contact Solutions, had more good news for brick-and-mortar retailers: When smartphone owners have a choice between buying the same item online or in a store, a majority – 61 percent, to be specific – get in their cars and go to the store.
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