Smartphones are changing the way we go shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, and now a new study shows how people plan on using their devices this Black Friday.
Seattle location analytics startup Placed, which measures more than 100 million locations a day across more than 100,000 U.S. users who have opted-in to share their location, found that nearly half (49 percent) of the 14,645 polled who plan to shop on Black Friday will use their smartphones for finding coupons/discounts.
Interestingly, 43 percent said they’ll take out their phones to compare prices at other locations — also known as “showrooming.” And of that group, the place shoppers are most likely to showroom at are bookstores, followed by toy stores and beauty product retailers:
These numbers speak to the demise of physical bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble. Perhaps those who showroom at bookstores are finding better deals on Amazon, either in print form or for Kindle.
Placed actually ran another study earlier this year that focused solely on showrooming and demonstrated how online shopping hubs like Amazon are hurting physical retailers.
Other ways people plan to use their smartphones on Black Friday include finding product info, accessing a retailer’s website, finding a store location, compiling a shopping list and actually making a purchase.
Placed’s “Holiday Shopper Profile,” revealed some other interesting tidbits about Black Friday shopping behavior, including information on people — 22 percent of those surveyed — who plan to make purchases on Thanksgiving Day thanks to stores like Macy’s, J.C. Penny and Best Buy that are opening their doors on the holiday.
Also, a majority of people (63 percent) still opt for in-store shopping on Black Friday, with the rest staying home and shopping from their devices (count me in that group).
Placed raised $3.4 million from Madrona Venture Group and others last year.
