Mobile technology is spurring growth in food shopping

WITH no signs of slowing in smartphone use globally, retailers will find that online shopping of food is also on the rise. A study conducted in the northeast part of the United States shows that customers who use mobile technology to purchase groceries usually placed bigger orders than if they would physically go to shop.

Using data gathered from 2011 to 2013, researchers from Northwestern University were able to identify the spending patterns of shoppers who used mobile shopping (M-shopping) in one particular grocer. Doctoral student Rebecca Jen-Hui Wang and marketing professors Edward C. Malthouse and Lakshman Krishnamurthi explored changes in customers’ spending after adopting M-shopping via smartphones or tablets to compose, modify, or place grocery orders online.

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The researchers found that when customers used smartphones or tablets (in addition to or in place of personal computers), they spent more sessions shopping for groceries. They assume the customers are composing their shopping list on the computer and later ordering via the mobile device. According to the researchers, this finding suggests that M-shopping can lead to additional touch points between the M-shopper and the retailer.

According to the study, low spenders in particular shop more often and placed larger orders after adopting mobile. More generally, when customers M-shop, they tend either to purchase items they have purchased before, such as milk, pet food, and cereal. They also shopped from companies they are already familiar with.

The researchers also believe that the size of smartphone screens is likely discouraging customers from exploring unfamiliar items or brands. With this theory in mind, they recommend that companies also use other channels, in addition to mobile, when launching new products.

These findings are featured in the article “On the Go: How Mobile Shopping Affects Customer Purchase Behavior,” to be published in the June issue of the Journal of Retailing.