After reading an article today about a study that was conducted to see whether shoppers use retail apps or the mobile web to do their shopping when on the go. Just for clarification, a retail app is an application that you can download onto your phone that allows you to browse merchandise as well as purchase merchandise. Using the mobile web is just like browsing on your laptop, except that it has been optimized for the mobile screen.
The reasoning for this result was that users spend more time on shopping apps when downloaded onto their phones therefore resorting to just browsing through the mobile web.
Personally, I was a little shocked when first reading this. I like retail apps because everything is organized and easy to go through. Also, it loads very fast because it is just an app. The downside for this is that you don’t really know when or how often the app is updated. As for the mobile web, I think I just have a bad experience because it always loads so slow for me, especially when I try to view pictures.
Overall, it is true that I probably spend more time on the app due to the availability of it, but compared to time waiting for the mobile web, I would rather spend my time shopping.
I found it surprising that so many people shop on their phones. I personally don’t shop on my phone. I think because of the smaller screen and the fact that if I’m on the go, I would rather just go to the actual store to shop there.
I also find this result to be surprising. The only shopping app i have on my phone would probably be groupon but thats because I can find daily deals on it. I find it to be much better to web browse for things because I usually have more options that way and can get user feedback allmost all of the time.