Page 26 - Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2014

18 Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2014

online, or locate an item that is out of stock. Retail- about a product, and 42 percent have used their
ers have coined the term “showrooming” to describe phone to get product reviews or product information
the practice of consumers going to retail stores to while shopping at a retail store.
examine products and then purchasing them online.
Many consumers who use their smartphone to
Among smartphone owners, 44 percent say that they comparison-shop report that they altered their deci-
have used their mobile phone to comparison shop on sions as a result: 68 percent who have comparison-
the Internet while at a retail store, and 31 percent shopped in a store report that they changed where
have used a barcode scanning application for price they made a purchase after comparing prices, and
comparisons. Consumers are also using their smart- 74 percent report that they changed what they pur-
phones to obtain product information: 33 percent chased as a result of reading product reviews on their
have scanned a QR code in a newspaper, magazine, smartphone while at a retail store.
or billboard advertisement to obtain information