SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - Nov 20, 2014) - Apigee ® today announced that nearly two out of three U.S. adult smartphone owners -- or 83 million people -- report that mobile phones or tablets have changed how they shop, according the Apigee Institute 's 2014 Digital Impact Survey. This survey, created in collaboration with Stanford University's Mobile Innovation Group (MIG) , shows that mobile devices are heavily impacting the holiday shopping habits of nearly 21 million more Americans as compared to last year's survey, an indication of the growing significance of smartphones and mobile apps in retail. According to the survey, Americans expect to spend $14.5 billion via mobile devices during the 2014 winter holidays.
The Apigee Institute is the research and strategy arm of Apigee , developer of a leading software platform for digital business. The Institute is dedicated to helping Global 2000 companies extend their leadership in today's app economy. Its annual Digital Impact Survey is designed to study how mobile apps are changing consumer behavior, how this is changing over time, and what these changes mean for enterprises, especially in the retail sector.
This year's survey shows that smartphones and mobile apps continue to impact consumer shopping behavior in the U.S., and that their impact has increased significantly in the last year. Other key findings of the survey include:
- Smartphone owners expect to spend 40 percent ($5.8 billion) of their mobile spending during the 2014 holiday season through mobile apps.
- More than 90 percent of smartphone owners expect department stores to provide key services via apps within the next two years. In last year's survey, only 67 percent shared this expectation.
- Almost three-quarters (74 percent) of smartphone owners say they would be more likely to shop at a store offering key functions and services via an app; this represents an increase of eight percentage points or 11.2 million smartphone owners since last year's survey.
- Approximately 18 percent of smartphone owners say they've started shopping at a new store simply because of its mobile app.
- More than three in five U.S. smartphone owners (63 percent) report using apps to shop at least once a month (up from 56 percent in last year's survey).
Consumers Prefer Adaptive Apps
This year's survey also sheds light on the types of apps consumers want. Two out of three respondents agreed that they are more excited by apps that learn from their behavior over standard apps. These "adaptive apps" leverage sophisticated analytics to understand individual behavior and preferences over time to deliver information and services that are customized and relevant to each person.
Many Retailers Not Meeting the "App Challenge"
While the increasing usage of smartphones and mobile apps for shopping presents a major opportunity for stores, retailers overall are lagging behind at delivering the apps that consumers want. While digital natives like Google and Amazon still set the standard, the banking sector also trounces retailers in this respect. The survey shows that 45 percent of respondents have downloaded and are satisfied by apps from banks compared to only 27 percent from retailers. Not surprisingly, among the channels surveyed (apps, phone, online, branch visits, and branded ATMs), apps have become the most common daily interaction channel for consumers with the banking industry.
Available today, the Apigee Institute's report: "Run, Don't Walk: Chasing Customer Expectations in Retail" provides more detail and analysis of its 2014 Digital Impact Survey findings. The report discusses how delivering smart, useful mobile apps is of critical importance to retailers today as they compete to win attention of smartphone owners everyday. The report can be accessed here on the Apigee website.
Methodology
The 2014 Digital Impact Survey was conducted by the Apigee Institute from Sept. 30 through Oct. 7, 2014. The survey assessed the behavior and attitudes of 1,000 smartphone owners, of which 600 were from the U.S. and 400 were from the U.K., toward mobile devices and apps. Within this report, respondents' regional, age, income, education, and gender distribution was structured to reflect the U.S. smartphone market (which consists of 140.48 million smartphone owners) as of the January 2014 Pew Internet & American Life Project omnibus survey.
About Apigee
Apigee provides a leading technology platform for digital business. Through APIs and big data, Apigee delivers the speed, scale and agility any business needs to compete in today's connected mobile world. Many of the world's largest and most respected organizations have selected Apigee to enable their digital business, including 20 percent of the Fortune 100. Apigee customers include global enterprises such as Walgreens, eBay, Shell, Live Nation, Kaiser Permanente and Sears. Apigee is headquartered in San Jose, California and has over 400 employees worldwide.
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