How mobile is changing the way we shop

Smartphones and tablets are changing many aspects of our day-to-day lives, even the way we do our shopping. The latest Mobile Audience Insights report from mobile ad specialist JiWire is focused on the consumer packaged goods (CPG) market and how mobile devices are affecting our buying habits.

Among the key findings of the report are that 60 percent of consumers use their smartphone to create their shopping list and 65 percent add products to their list after seeing a mobile ad, 46 percent are willing to try a new product after seeing an ad. Also 69 percent would be happy to see their shopping experience enhanced by receiving information like discount coupons or recipes from the retailer on their mobile.

JiWire also looked at advertising campaigns and found that successful mobile adverts drove a 44 percent increase in in-store foot traffic in the third quarter of 2013. Consumers are more likely to respond to ads when they're within five miles of the store in question and these ads are most effective at driving traffic to service locations like dry cleaners and post offices.

The quarter has also seen a big jump in public Wi-Fi connections from mobile devices, up 21 percent over last year. Of all public Wi-Fi connections 68 percent are now from mobile devices with laptop connections in steady decline.

"CPG brands have an invaluable opportunity to engage and influence consumers at every point in their purchase path thanks to the role mobile now plays in the grocery shopping experience," says David Staas, president of JiWire. "Mobile provides that engagement opportunity to influence the consumer before the get to the store, and can create continuity through to purchase and measurement. It's a great time to be a CPG brand investing in mobile."

Have mobile devices changed the way you buy your groceries? Or do you think that targeted mobile ads are a turn off? Let us know via the comments. In the meantime you can download the full report as a PDF from the JiWire website.

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