33% of consumers now solely use mobile devices during retail purchasing journey

A report from xAd states that mobile devices are increasingly taking over the consumer purchasing journey.

The ‘Mobile Path to Purchase’ study found that 33% of retail purchase journeys solely involved use of a mobile device.

The data also revealed that more and more people are beginning their purchasing research with their smartphones, despite this historically being a desktop practice.

In 2015, 53% of consumers valued their mobile as their most important tool for researching purchase information, compared with 36% for desktop computers.

This is a marked shift in behaviour compared with 2013, when 75% saw desktop as their most important tool.

The research also revealed the growing shift towards the ‘always on’ consumer, with mobile taking over purchasing at home as well as on the move.

Based on consumer location data, the research found that mobiles were being used at home 64% of the time, compared with on the move, in 36% of cases.

This has changed dramatically compared with 2013, when just 43% of smartphone use was at home.

Imran Khan, head of programmatic for xAd, said the data revealed just how important it was for retailers to get into a mobile-first mindset, regardless of the success their physical stores might be having.

“We are living in a world where marketers need to live and breathe mobile, incorporating it into their plans. With 59% of people in the UK owning a smartphone and 60% of those completing online purchases on their mobile device… mobile has emerged as the glue that binds online and offline experiences together for the moving consumer – on the go and almost always connected.”