When Jay Ebert's Macy's catalog went AWOL, he didn't panic. He scoured the department store's post-Thanksgiving ad on his smart phone instead. "It was so much easier ... I just clicked it and everything I wanted was saved," said Ebert, 17. "I didn't have to go through this," gesturing to a wadded-up paper ad being held by his friend. From comparing prices to snaring exclusive deals, more consumers will have their heads buried in their mobile devices this year, using smart phone applications to make sure they shop smarter.
Unlike online shopping, which takes a bite out of brick-and-mortar sales, experts don't expect mobile applications to keep shoppers at home. Instead they'll use their phones "as a tool to get good value and pricing," said Laura Conrad, president of the price comparison website PriceGrabber.com. It may even convince some shoppers who normally shop online to head out. "They can be more strategic and use their device to be efficient in the stores they shop and not go to stores that don't have stock," said Scott Erickson, a partner at the consulting firm Deloitte & Touche.
Depending on which survey you believe, the number of consumers planning to use smart phones to enhance their holiday shopping ranges from 17 percent to 59 percent, with the majority using their phones to compare prices and search inventories. Google said it has seen a 500 percent increase in mobile searches compared to last year.
But users are buying things too. According to technology research firm Aite Group, purchases via a mobile phone will account for $3 billion in sales in 2010, with that number growing to more than $27 billion in 2015. "Retailers are seeing it's becoming a more integral part of people's shopping experience," Erickson said of mobile applications. A survey conducted by Harris Interactive found 76 percent of mobile app users expect all major brands to have mobile applications that make it easier to shop and interact with the company.
Most every major retailer has taken this to heart, competing with each other to create the most innovative and easy-to-use features, whether it's a mobile shopping platform or sending out mobile coupons.
At Best Buy, shoppers can make purchases through Best Buy Mobile or scan QR Codes for product reviews. QR Codes, or "quick response" codes, look like a square jumble of pixels that when scanned takes you to enhanced content such as product reviews or videos online. Scan the QR Codes in Target's holiday catalog and you'll receive tips on holiday decorating and fashion.
'New and innovative' technology
"We're always looking for new and innovative ways to help our guests shop and get great value," Target spokeswoman Molly Koenst said. On a Target iPad application launched earlier this month, shoppers can flip through weekly ads, drag and drop products onto a shopping list and listen to exclusive Target holiday music.