More than half of consumers use their smartphones when shopping

NEW YORK — Verve Wireless, a mobile advertising company, on Thursday announced the results of a study conducted across the 1,300 mobile publishers that use the Verve advertising platform. The study reinforces that consumers and their smartphones are inseparable when it comes to shopping.

According to the survey, more than 60% of respondents used their smartphone for shopping one or more times each month. Almost half of those consumers used their smartphone to look up information on price, followed by product information (24%), reviews (14%) and where to buy (14%).

"The results substantiate what our advertising partners have known for a while: that mobile is an essential part of any retailer's advertising plan," stated Greg Hallinan, chief marketing officer of Verve Wireless. "There is a growing demographic of consumers who rely on their mobile device to help them make decisions in the aisles of brick-and-mortar stores, as well as while shopping online. The advertiser who meets them there will win the sale."

The top three product categories shopped for on smartphones were electronics (51%), entertainment (50%) and books (45%). The top three retailers users accessed on their mobile device (tablet and smartphone) were Amazon (63%), eBay (37%) and Target (35%).

The survey was conducted over an eight-week period across the Verve Network. To download the study, click here.