Survey Shows Men Are Biggest Mobile Shoppers

CSD Staff
Sep 12, 2012

Men most frequently shop on mobile while at the office, while 12% of women use mobile to shop while in the waiting room at the doctor’s office.

In the mobile and digital age, men have surpassed women shoppers with 45% of men having made a mobile purchase vs. 34% of women, according to a new survey released by uSamp.

The mobile study looked at mobile consumer buying habits of 1,100 men and women, ages 18–75 and was conducted using uSamp Mobile, a mobile platform that blends uSamp’s mobile survey technology with their proprietary panel of smartphone respondents.

It turns out that men and women practice much of their mobile shopping while they are out and about. According to the results, 12% of women find themselves shopping on their mobile devices while in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. On the other hand, 25% of men most frequently shop on mobile while at the office.

The survey found that men are more likely than women to purchase items over their mobile devices. What items are they buying?

27% of males purchase consumer electronics on mobile vs. 8% of females

23% of males purchase movie and event tickets on mobile vs. 11% of females

30% of males purchase digital content on mobile vs. 20% of females

13% of males purchase food and drinks on mobile vs. 8% of females

8% of males purchase office supplies on mobile vs. 4% of females

8% of females purchase cosmetics on mobile vs. 2% of males

“We recognize that mobile consumerism is on the rise, and it’s important for companies to learn where, why and how their audiences are making their buying decisions,” said Matt Dusig, co-founder and CEO, uSamp. “Our mobile platform is taking the guessing out of mobile consumers’ behavior, and we’re gaining first-hand experience of what is driving their actions.”

In addition to the buying habits of men and women while shopping on mobile, the survey took a look at how mobile devices are being used in purchase decisions. Ninety-one percent of males have scanned a product barcode with their mobile device vs. 85% of women. The survey found that men and women who scan barcodes with mobile are shopping at these types of stores:

Electronic store: 27% male vs. 12% female

Convenience store: 7% male vs. 3% female

Cosmetic store: 6% female vs. 2% male

To see the data from this mobile consumer buying habits survey in an infographic, follow this link, http://blog.usamp.com/blog/2012/09/12/retailers-meet-mans-new-best-friend-mobile/.