1 in 5 Smartphone Users Who Search Locally Make Online Purchase

February 29, 2012

google-smartphone-post-search-activities-feb-2012.jpg21% of US smartphone internet users who have looked for information about local businesses or services on their device have acted on that information by making a purchase from the business online, while one-quarter have made a purchase in-store, according to [pdf] a Google survey released in February 2012. A significant proportion have also called the business or service (51%), looked up the business or service on a map (49%), visited the business (48%), and visited the website of the business or service (47%).

Overall, 92% of US smartphone users seek local information, with 89% of those having taken action after looking up local content.

According to a February report [pdf] from DudaMobile, consumers are likely to take immediate action on mobile-friendly sites: for mobile-friendly websites powered by DudaMobile, nearly 1 in 5 visits to a small business website leads to an immediate call to the business, with that rate significantly higher for transportation (44%), pizzerias (32%), and car service (28%) companies.

Smartphone Users Purchase Frequently

Data from Google’s “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” indicates that roughly one-third of US smartphone internet users (smartphone users who use the internet in general) have made a purchase on their device. Of those, 20% purchase on a daily basis, while 14% do so a weekly basis. In all, more than 3 in 5 US smartphone shoppers purchase products or services on their device at least monthly. In fact, a majority of smartphone shoppers across the 6 countries studied (US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Japan) purchase on their device at least monthly, led by those in Spain (64%).

Device Influences Purchase Decisions

35% of US smartphone users say they intentionally have their device with them to compare prices and inform themselves about products, while roughly one-third have changed their mind about purchasing a product in-store as a result of information they gathered using their smartphone. About 3 in 10 report having changed their mind about purchasing a product online as a result of the information they gathered.

Smartphone Research Fuels Offline Purchases

Smartphone users researching products and services on their device end up purchasing from a variety of channels. In fact, they are 14% more likely to purchase offline then via their device (32% vs. 28%), although they report most often buying via a computer after using their device for research (36%). The tendency for smartphone researchers to favor stores over their devices for purchases was also found when Google surveyed 2011 holiday shoppers: according to results from that survey, also released in February, 46% of holiday smartphone shoppers researched on their device and then went to the store to make their purchase, compared to 41% who researched on their device and then purchased on their smartphone.

About the Data: The Google survey results are based on online interviews with private smartphone users who use the internet on their smartphone. The sample size was 1,000 each in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Japan. Interviews were conducted by Ipsos in Q1 2012 (fieldwork in January/February).

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