Hybrid shopping is here to stay, with research released today showing that 60% more Australians will shop on their mobile this festive season and 30% fewer Australians will shop in store, compared to 2021.
The data, which comes from InMobi’s '2022 Holiday Shopping: What Brands and Retailers Need to Know' research report, also shows that 49% of Australians have already made concrete shopping plans, a three-fold increase on 2021.
Buying is expected to peak in November during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales for 58% of shoppers, while 18% will buy before ‘free shipping day’ on the 15th of December and 28% will buy in the two weeks before Christmas.
The report finds that mobiles are second only to TV when it comes to product discovery by consumers. However, when it comes to exploring and researching products, mobile is the dominant channel, with 56% of Australian shoppers preferring mobile over in-store visits (31%).
Richard O’Sullivan, vice president and general manager for Australia and New Zealand at Inmobi, said: “As shoppers continue to turn to mobiles as their primary channel for purchase, brands must think carefully about how they can leverage the rich signals available to drive contextual advertising at scale.”
While shoppers are being described as cautiously optimistic about their festive season shopping, just 26% of Australians intend to increase their spending compared to last year’s holiday season budgets. Some 46% plan to spend about the same as in 2021.
E-gadgets, jewellery and apparel, and accessories are the categories most likely to be purchased via mobile devices, while groceries, home appliances, and home décor or furnishings will be most often purchased in store.
Convenience (64%), availability of shopper reviews (62%), loyalty programs (59%) as well as easy returns and exchanges (57%) have been identified as the main reasons why mobile apps and websites are gaining significant momentum as a purchase medium.
The '2022 Holiday Shopping: What Brands and Retailers Need to Know' report is based on a survey of 500 mobile users in Australia between September 8th and 10th 2022.
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