Mobile Shopping is Ramping Up in the U.S.

As more and more U.S. consumers purchase mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, more of them are using the devices to participate in the all-American pastime: shopping. At the end of the first quarter of this year, some 84% of U.S. mobile device owners said that they used their devices to shop within the past month. That's an increase of 5% over the first quarter of 2012.

The data comes from Nielsen, which also noted that an equal number (50%) of men and women used their mobile gadgets to shop, even though women generally predominate in the amount of spending.

By age group, 28% young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 use their mobile devices to shop. Interestingly though, 25% of adults older than 55 are mobile shoppers as well. But the number of young adult shoppers is rising year-over-year while the number of older shoppers is slipping.

On the basis of income, 38% of mobile device owners with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 use their devices for shopping. For all those with incomes above $100,000, 26% use their mobile devices to shop. And 21% of Americans with incomes less than $50,000 also shop with their mobile devices, and this is the fastest growing group of shoppers, up 8% year-over-year. There is likely a correlation between age and income, with young adults more likely to earn less than $50,000 annually.

Filed under: Mobile