Snap Poll: 76 Percent of In Store Shoppers Change Their Minds After Consulting Their Phones



Your Customers Use Phones While Shopping

An unscientific poll of a few dozen shoppers revealed that many consult their phones before they buy something.

Customers Use Phones While Shopping

The poll — commissioned by Edgenet — was taken of 60 big-box store shoppers in Nashville between May 22 and June 5. The results showed:




Win $100 for Vendor Insights



Drive Traffic to Your Website



Sell Your Business



  • 61 percent used their smart phones to learn more about a product and compare prices,
  • 76 percent bought something different than they originally wanted, and
  • 76 percent wanted more info to help them make a final decision

If you’re a small retailer there are some important takeaways here.

It’s Time for a Mobile Store

Having a mobile-ready website puts your store right there with your competitors (even big box stores).

Recent data shows that 30 percent of shoppers will abandon a “trip” to your online store if it’s not optimized for mobile.

Showcase All of Your Products

A study earlier this year revealed your site needs to be attractive and user-friendly. An ugly site could drive away almost half of your customers.



Part of building a good online store is packing it with as much information as possible. Include detailed product information. Crisp well-lit photos from every angle are important. Include plenty of product details, too.

And, of course, you’ll want to have competitive prices. If shoppers see your price and then a better price from a competitor, they may be inclined to shop elsewhere.

You still have to remain competitive. Remember the site customers go to while at a big box store in search of better deals could be yours.

Well Trained Staff

Why are shoppers looking at their phones in the first place? Probably because they’re being left alone. This is where attentive and well-informed employees become indispensable.  While you’re loading up that mobile site with product info, make sure your employees are sharing information with customers on products in the store too.



Rather than a phone, your customers could have their questions answered by a person.

Shopping with Phone Photo via Shutterstock

4 Comments ▼

Rob Starr Rob Starr is a staff writer for Small Business Trends. Rob is a freelance journalist and content strategist/manager with three decades of experience in both print and online writing. He currently works in New York City as a copywriter and all across North America for a variety of editing and writing enterprises.

4 Reactions
  1. This is what online reviews are for. They usually read the reviews and if the reviews are bad, they wouldn’t even bother buying the item.

  2. I agree. I love reading reviews before buying. It allows me to have a glimpse of the user experience before I use my money.

  3. I think that the customer has the freedom to check reviews. You don’t need to be afraid of this if your product is good.

    • Reviews are a pretty democratic way to shop. You just need to know how to spot the phony ones.





Win $100 for Vendor Selection Insights



Tell us!
No, Thank You