26 per cent of US smartphone buyers undergo in-store change of heart

American mobile consumers can’t make their minds up.
A significant percentage of smartphone buyers in the US have a change of heart in-store before purchasing their mobiles, a recent research conducted by BDS Marketing has revealed.
The survey, which was undertaken by 900 consumers who had purchased a television, smartphone, or tablet PC in the past 60 days, showed that 26 per cent of smartphone buyers opted for a different brand once in the store. Similarly, TV buyers were almost equally influenced in store with 25 per cent changing their mind before parting with their cash. However, tablet consumers appear far less malleable, with only 11 per cent succumbing to the in-store influence.
50 per cent of the smartphone buyers that took part in the survey claimed that they had a specific product in mind before entering the store, while 44 per cent had a general idea of what they were looking for.
When revealing what had the greatest influence on their in store decisions, the largest percentage cited price. However, the research showed that the most significant factor on a one-to-five scale was seeing the product in store. And, in 13 per cent of cases, the consumer changed brands following a recommendation from a sales associate.
Sean Wargo, senior director of Business Intelligence for BDS, commented: "Nowadays, we often believe consumers do their research at home and then go to the store set on buying a given brand or model, but this isn't entirely the case. Sales and promotions in the store do have an impact, but so does the associate, making them a key component of the selling process and an important target for in-store marketing efforts."

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