57% of Mobile App Users Would Consider Buying Holiday Gifts on a Mobile Device This Year

If retailers haven’t already gotten the hint that a mobile app presence is important and potentially profitable, a survey from Apigee, an API company, is another kick in the right direction. Among the findings in the survey is that nearly 3 in 5 mobile app users say they’d consider purchasing holiday gifts this year on a mobile device.

According to Apigee, 57 percent of mobile app users said they would consider buying holiday gifts this year on a mobile device, with the top item categories being books (32 percent), electronics (31 percent), gift cards (27 percent), DVDs/Blu-ray discs (26 percent), clothing (24 percent) and toys (20 percent).

Meanwhile, 82 percent of mobile app users said there are benefits to using a mobile device to purchase gifts this holiday season. Here are some of the benefits cited:

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

This is all fine and dandy for retailers who already offer mobile apps, but what about those that don’t? Fifty-four percent of respondents said there could be consequences. To flesh out that ominous assertion, Apigee found that 30 percent of respondents said not having a mobile app could mean a wasted trip to the store looking for items they don’t carry, while 25 percent said they could lose out on the best deals the store offers and 19 percent said they could cause them to view the retailer as old-fashioned. Seven percent of respondents said the lack of a mobile app could hurt their loyalty to the store.

“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, CEO of Apigee.

According to Google’s “2011 Post-Holiday Recap,” published in January, 69 percent of smartphone shoppers used apps and websites last holiday season, while 57 percent of tablet shoppers did the same.

Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation (NRF) looks into its crystal ball regarding this year’s holiday shopping season