Smartphones are heralding new era of 'smart shopping'

Three years after the launch of the first iPhone, the advent of "mobile connectivity" is profoundly shaking up the way consumers shop, according to new research from PriceGrabber.co.uk(R).

Not just online, but in stores too, as a growing army of "smart shoppers" are arriving in stores equipped with internet enabled Smartphones.

While these devices might be small, they still have the capacity to spend big - with the research finding that 20 per cent of shoppers who makes purchases from their mobiles have spent more than £100 on mobile phone shopping spree in the last three months.

Of the 908 online shoppers that were asked about their mobile shopping habits, 66 per cent owned a Smartphone or another web-enabled phone. Of the consumers who shop from their mobile, nearly half (48 per cent) claim that the convenience of having the internet with them wherever they go is their number one reason for smart shopping.

PriceGrabber.co.uk's research found that of the consumers that own a Web-enabled mobile phone 24 per cent compare or check prices from their mobile phone; 22 per cent research product details and specifications from their Mobile phone; 16 per cent purchase online from their mobile phone; nine per cent check product availability and five percent access online discount vouchers.

When it comes to most popular mobile purchases, research revealed that of the consumers who purchase online from their mobile phone 59 per cent purchase digital content for mobiles (ringtones, Apps and music/video clips); 52 per cent purchase consumer electronics, such as GPS, MP3 players and digital cameras; 45 per cent purchase computers, laptops and peripherals; 45 per cent purchase books and 33 per cent purchasing clothing.