Survey: 57% of app users say they may do holiday shopping on mobile device

Palo Alto, Calif. -- A survey released Thursday by Apigee found that three out of five – or 57% – of mobile app users would consider purchasing their holiday gifts this year on a mobile device.

The 2012 Holiday Shopping survey revealed that the top items that would potentially be purchased via mobile are books (32%), electronics (31%), gift cards (27%), DVDs/Blue-ray discs (26%), clothing (24%) and toys (20%).

When asked about the benefits of using a mobile device to buy gifts this holiday season, 82% of mobile app users said there are benefits including:

• Browsing for deals wherever you are – 50%;
• Performing price comparisons inside a store – 48%;
• Using a mobile device to find a retail store – 40%;
• Redeeming electronic coupons – 38%;
• Secretly shopping without a spouse/significant other knowing – 25%;
• Buying embarrassing or personal items without using a work computer – 14%; and
• Sneaking shopping time in at work – 12%.

And mobile app users are speaking out about what it means when a retailer does not provide a mobile app. More than half (54%) say there could be consequences when a retailer does not have a mobile app. The top concern was that they could waste a trip to the store looking for items they don’t carry (30%), followed by:

• I could lose out on the best deals the store offers – 25%;
•  It makes me think the retailer is old-fashioned – 19%;
• I could lose time – 17%;
•  I could lose money – 12%; and
• It could hurt my loyalty to the store – 7%.

“These findings demonstrate that the app economy is having a big impact on the way we live, and people are increasingly demanding a lot more from the apps they use every day," said Chet Kapoor, Apigee CEO.