Shoppers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to search for products since the pandemic hit.
Research by fintech Klarna of 18,000 consumers across 13 countries, including the UK, US, France, Sweden and Norway, found that Gen Zs and Millennials are driving the trend.
71% of respondents, across all age groups, said they had shopped on their mobile.
Desktops and laptops, however, remain popular with spenders.
Globally, using a computer for shopping decreased 3% from 55% to 52% during Q2, Q3 and Q4 of 2021.
Mobile, meanwhile, saw a 2% uptake to 36% and shopping on tablets remained steady at 12%.
Mobile a hit for Millennials
While Gen Zs were found to be using their mobile phones the most for shopping, Klarna’s research pointed to Millennials as the generation that preferred online shopping on their mobiles.
48% of Millennials shop at least once a week on their mobile device, according to stats from Q4 2021.
Another use for mobile, Klarna found, is product discovery.
Known as web-rooming – or online research – plays an important role in the in-store shopping journey.
Consumers are making price comparisons, checking product reviews and shopper testimonials online before shopping in bricks-and-mortar.
“If you see someone on their phone in a store, there’s a high chance they are doing some additional product research before making a final purchase,” wrote Klarna in the report.
Online pre-search is most prevalent with those shopping for beauty, electronics and fashion.
Download overload
In spite of the increasing use of mobiles for purchasing, shoppers are using only a handful of apps on a weekly basis.
One in four customers globally only use 1% and 10% of their mobile apps.
“Although smartphone users are spending more time in apps than before there is an upper limit as to how many apps a consumer regularly uses on a weekly basis,” added Klarna.
“Consumers have a limited level of engagement with most of their installed apps.”
Gen Zs across the globe have an average of 48 apps downloaded on their smartphone.
