Eighteen percent of African Americans, 16% of Hispanics use their mobile devices to make purchases, compared with 10% of Caucasians, finds shopper behavior study

Cindy Allen

DENVER , June 22, 2012 (press release) – U.S. smartphone penetration is nearing 50 percent, so it's no surprise that the adoption of mobile shopping tools has been rapid. African Americans and Hispanics are adopting new shopping technologies at a faster rate than Caucasians, with 18 percent of African American shoppers and 16 percent of Hispanic shoppers using their mobile device to make purchases as compared to 10 percent of Caucasians. This was revealed in the latest issue of The Checkout, an ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group® and M/A/R/C Research.

One in five African American shoppers (21 percent versus 13 percent of Caucasian shoppers) use their phone to read product reviews and maintain shopping lists and one in five Hispanic shoppers (20 percent versus 13 percent of Caucasian shoppers) use their mobile device to compare prices on products. Despite smartphone penetration skewing lower among African Americans and Hispanics than Caucasians, both are leading the charge by using mobile as a means to access the digital world of shopping aids.

"Basic mobile communication through SMS and mobile websites should be the points of entry. Mobile marketing to multicultural shoppers is a huge opportunity," said Martin Ferro, senior account planner for Velocidad, a Hispanic promotional, retail and shopper marketing capability of The Integer Group.

Additional findings on mobile shopping from The Checkout:

Almost as many shoppers are using coupons from email and e-newsletters (49 percent) as they are from the Sunday paper (57 percent).
Men might be the traditional lovers of tech toys, but when it comes to using technology to enhance shopping, women are ahead of the curve.
Having children in the household drives accelerated adoption of digital technologies to deliver shopping solutions for busy moms and dads.

"Digital shoppers are just shoppers," said Ben Kennedy, group director of Mobile Marketing at Integer. "Digital shopping tools are illustrative of the continued blurring of the on- and offline spaces. Today's reality is that shoppers use whatever tools they have on hand to make them smarter, savvier shoppers."

Data for The Checkout comes from a national survey conducted by Integer and M/A/R/C where consumers are asked about their shopping attitudes, shopping behaviors, and economic outlook. Topics range from criteria shoppers use to select retailers, to which in-store stimulus is most likely to drive purchase, to factors that might lead shoppers to leave an aisle empty-handed. The Checkout is available for download at Integer's blog ShopperCulture.com.

About The Integer Group
The Integer Group (www.integer.com) is one of the world's largest promotional, retail, and shopper marketing agencies, and a key member of Omnicom Group Inc. Integer lives at the Intersection of Branding and Selling® and creates strategic marketing solutions for clients in categories that include retail, beverage, packaged goods, telecommunications, home and shelter, automotive aftermarket, and power sports. Integer has more than 1,200 employees working in U.S. locations as well as international offices in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America. Join the conversation on shopping culture and brand strategy at www.shopperculture.com.

About Omnicom
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations, and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

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