Females lead the charge in Smartphone online shopping

Continued increases in ‘smartphone’ mobile shopping – led by a record number of females adopting the technology – is helping Australians avoid the Christmas queues, according to Telstra research released today.

Almost one in two smartphone owners have used their phone for ‘pre-shopping’ to support a purchase decision and almost three in four of these have converted to an offline purchase as a result.

Telstra Director of Digital Media and Content, Adam Good said the third annual Smartphone Index conducted by Nielsen proved consumers are showing more confidence in purchasing goods and services online.

“Smartphone popularity continues to surge and our research shows Australian women are leading the way in making it the device of choice for not only shopping, but also searching, social networking, and other tasks,” Mr Good said.

“Shoppers looking to avoid the Christmas chaos at malls and stores are browsing products on their smartphones before purchasing, making their usual December rush a more efficient, enjoyable experience.”

Telstra’s Smartphone Index reveals:

• More than one in two (52%) mobile owners are connected smartphone users, up from 41% in 2011, 32% in 2010.
• There is a continued surge in smartphone interest from females and younger populations.  Some segments show penetration as high as 86% and usage as high as 10 hours a week.
• Shopping is on the rise. Consumers are showing more confidence in purchasing goods and services via smartphones – females in particular have contributed greatly to certain growth categories.
• Mobile shopping also continues to be an important part of the decision making process. Almost one in two smartphone owners have used their phone for ‘pre-shopping’ to support a purchase decision and almost three in four of these have converted to an offline purchase as a result.
• Smartphones are enabling richer, more engaging formats of advertising and new ways to reach the consumer. Approximately one in two cite that mobile advertising stands out.

The research also found:

• Almost one in two users are connected via their smartphone at various points of the weekday. This is in contrast to other mobile devices such as tablets which only peak during certain hours.
• Almost nine in ten have multi-tasked with their smartphone.  With high connectivity and steady usage throughout the day, smartphones are used to a great extent for multi-tasking with other devices, activities and consumption of other media.
• Huge increases with smartphone preference over the traditional PC or laptop across a range of categories. Significant proportions of users are now citing the smartphone as their primary access point (one in three for search and two in five for social networking).

About the Research: This research was conducted online by The Nielsen Company on behalf of Telstra on a representative sample of 2,119 mobile Australians aged over 16 from across Australia in both metropolitan and regional areas.