Race Ethnicity and In-store Mobile-Assisted Shopping in the US

0 0 1 245 1419 23 8 1656 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE This research examines the relationship between race, ethnicity, and consumer use of mobile coupons and digital barcodes to facilitate purchase decisions. Data were collected by telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of US adults. The independent variables were demographic variables (race ethnicity, gender, and household income) and behavioral variables (tablet and E-reader ownership index, and social networking service (SNS) and Twitter use index). Results showed that minority (Non-White) adults were significantly more likely than White adults to use their mobile phone in-store to 1.) purchase products with mobile coupons, and 2.) scan barcodes for product information. Univariate analyses showed SNS use and tablet/E-reader ownership were both significantly associated with the in-store use of mobile coupons and of mobile phones to scan barcodes for product information. Multivariate analyses showed that both SNS use and tablet/E-reader ownership were significantly associated with the in-store use of mobile phones to scan barcodes for product information, but only SNS use was significantly associated with in-store mobile coupon use. Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed that greater household income was significantly related to a greater mobile coupon use but was not associated with greater likelihood of barcode scans for product information. These results show that minorities are at the forefront of the use of mobile phones to assist with in-store purchase decisions, and that the ownership of mobile devices, such as tablets and E-readers, and the use of social media predict in-store mobile assisted shopping.