Consumers are using various devices to conduct retail shopping research, and are often crossing from one device to another to make purchases. A new study [download page] released by JiWire examines cross-device retail research and purchase behavior by device, with some interesting results. Among the highlights, consumers researching on laptops are the most likely to purchase on the same device, with only a minority of tablet and smartphone researchers doing so. In fact, respondents researching on a smartphone said they were more likely to finish purchases in-store than on any single device.
The study looks at research conducted not only on smartphones, tablets, and laptops, but also in-store, considering each as a research and purchasing source.
Among the 67% of respondents who conduct retail research on their tablet:
- A plurality (41%) say they make purchases on their tablet, while an almost equal proportion buy on laptop (32%) as make their purchases in-store (33%); and
- Significantly fewer (15%) make purchase on smartphones.
Among the 74% who research on their laptop:
- A majority 52% make purchases on their laptop, although 37% make their purchases in-store; and
- Fewer switch to a smaller screen such as a tablet (21%) or smartphone (16%) to make their purchases.
Among the 60% who research in-store:
- A majority 57% end up making their purchases in-store, although 29% buy on laptops, 19% on smartphones, and 18% on tablets.
To recap those results: consumers researching on tablets and laptops or in-store often continue to a purchase without switching devices or channels. However, only a minority 41% of those researching on a tablet end up will end up making their purchase on the same device.
The results are a bit different when it comes to smartphones: among the 68% who conduct retail shopping research on their smartphones, only 35% say they make their purchases on those devices. In fact, smartphone researchers are more likely to make their purchases in-store (37%) than on their smartphones, with many also switching to laptops (28%) or tablets (21%).
Another way of looking at the results is to ignore the in-store option and look solely at the connected device options. Interestingly, the data indicates that the device being used for research is also the option most likely to be used for a purchase, suggesting that while many respondents do switch between devices, the first device is also most often the last.
