High Usage of Smartphones for Shopping - That's Good News for Service Businesses Too!

Posted: May 03, 2012
Author: WordJack Media

After reading the title for this article about recent (Q1, 2012) growth in mobile device usage while shopping, a lot of us would be thinking “I don’t have a product/service that can be sold online, so what do I care about the growth in mobile usage while shopping?”.

I know online shopping often conjures up images of going online, checking out, making payment and getting a product delivered to your home. But take a deep breath, and look through the results for a moment! Only 29% of people surveyed cited “using device to make a purchase” as an activity they’ve completed.

What types of things are people actually doing that can be considered “using their device for shopping”?

Have a look at some of these results and think about the opportunities for a service-type business:

73% used mobile to locate a store

How well have you updated your business information on local search properties and store locators so that people can find you? There’s no magic in this – if your locality is important at all, you need to make sure your google/yelp/superpages listings are all accurate, as well as your info on databases that feed info to GPS devices and other map applications

45% used mobile to read reviews of a recent/upcoming purchase

Wow, not to mention the 11% using mobile to write one! What have you done lately to check that your reputation on review-sites is looking sharp? Are you aware of any bad reviews you have on yelp, insiderpages, etc? Have you responded publically to show you care? How many of your satisfied clients have you asked to leave you a review this week?

23% used social media to comment on a purchase

We’ve all seen friends do this! Even a friend’s facebook comment like “Walking about of my Chiropractor’s clinic feeling a million bucks!” is going to resonate with you if you wake up in a month’s time with a sore neck and are looking for a recommendation! This is a big driver behind businesses encouraging their customers to “check in” on Facebook or Foursquare! There are social marketing opportunities there!

What about you? How have you used your mobile device for shopping lately?