NEW YORK—A new study reveals how smartphones are changing the way people shop.
The Remote Payments Study from Pymnts.com shows that only 32.2% of respondents found their most recent purchases in a store, compared to 47.6% who made the discovery online.
“Consumers may be eliminating that discovery process altogether though. Nearly 42% of survey participants said they know what they want to purchase before they browse for new products,” said LowCards.com in its analysis.
The follow-through is strong for smartphone purchases. The survey found 63.8% of consumers who made a purchase on their phones initially found the items online. Over one-quarter (25.7%) of shoppers said they normally use a mobile device to pay for their purchases, whether in-store or online.
Voice assistants, such as Alexa and Siri, are also changing the face of shopping, noted LowCards.com.
Voice-Activated Devices
More than one-in-four (28%) respondents had a voice-activated device, and 27% of them used those devices to make a purchase within the last week, the study shows.
Debit and credit cards were the most popular means of mobile payments, representing 37.1% and 28.7% of transactions, respectively. Mobile wallets trailed far behind, covering only 3.2% of purchases through Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Walmart Pay, and others.