Today, roughly 90 percent of Americans between 18 and 64 have a mobile phone. Roughly half of those are using their phones to shop, according to research conducted by Arc Worldwide.
William Rosen, president and CEO of Arc, told Reuters, "The idea of a single path to purchase is dead. There are many paths to purchase, and mobile technology is enabling people to shop in different ways, (and) take different routes to a transaction, than we've ever seen before."
Consumers using mobile to shop, as has been previously documented, are doing price comparisons, reading reviews, downloading coupons and making purchases with their phones.
Mobile shoppers are broken down into heavy and light users. According to the study, "Heavies are forever attached to their mobile device and love experimenting with new apps. Lights are just the opposite, viewing their mobile as an inferior on-the-go version of their computer, doing basic mobile shopping activities including, looking up store hours and locations."
Eighty percent of consumers who use mobile devices to shop are considered light users.
"If these light mobile shoppers really start engaging and evolve into heavier mobile shoppers, that's going to increase the mobile shopping population by 50 percent," Molly Garris, digital strategy manager at Arc, told Reuters.
Mr. Rosen said retailers and brands need to develop their own mobile programs and promote them in traditional media and stores.
"There is the risk of them (consumers) using someone else's app and literally getting snatched out of the aisle," he said.