Many Consumers Will Use Mobile Shopping Applications to Save Money This Holiday Season, Says PriceGrabber® Survey

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PriceGrabber®, a part of Experian, just released additional results of its third winter holiday shopping survey, revealing how consumers plan to use mobile shopping applications this holiday season. According to the survey, 39 percent of consumers have shopping-related apps on a smartphone, 26 percent do not, and 35 percent do not own a smartphone. Eighty-four percent of the consumers who have shopping-related apps indicated that they plan to use their apps to help save money when purchasing holiday gifts. Conducted from Oct. 18 to Oct. 26, 2011, the survey includes responses from 3,574 U.S. online shopping consumers.

Many will download new apps for the holidays; comparison shopping apps most popular
When consumers who own a smartphone were asked whether they plan to download new shopping apps on their phones for holiday shopping purposes, 42 percent indicated that they plan to do so. When asked to select all of the types of apps they plan to download, comparison-shopping apps were the most popular, with 70 percent of these specific consumers intending to download them. This was closely followed by 65 percent of shoppers who said they will download coupon apps; 62 percent who will download price check apps with the ability to scan barcodes; and 46 percent who will download apps dedicated specifically to searching Black Friday deals.

Shoppers believe apps help them find the best prices
PriceGrabber's survey data revealed that when the consumers who plan to download new apps were asked to select all of the reasons why they will use these apps to assist with holiday shopping, 56 percent said that they find the best prices using mobile shopping apps. Fifty percent cited the convenience of receiving discounts and price notifications directly on a mobile phone; 44 percent indicated that they only have time to shop on the go; 38 percent use the apps to enhance the experience of shopping in brick-and-mortar stores; and 28 percent enjoy the apps' localization features.

"Following the higher-than-expected success of Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, we aren't surprised to see a meaningful percentage of consumers planning to spur retailers with another round of shopping closer to Christmas," commented Graham Jones, general manager of PriceGrabber. "We expect that shoppers will stay on top of last-minute incentives and price drops that are certainly on the horizon in the coming weeks via the internet and mobile shopping applications like PriceGrabber, which has already experienced over 1.5 million downloads across the iPhone, Android, and iPad."

Most will shop on the go or at home
When consumers who will download new apps for holiday shopping this year were asked to select all of the places where they plan to use these apps, 79 percent said on the go. Seventy-four percent will use the apps from home, and only 32 percent will use the apps at work.

Consumers will use mobile shopping apps for any kind of gift
Respondents who plan to download new holiday shopping apps indicated that any type of item is fair game to purchase using a mobile shopping app. Sixty-three percent of consumers said they plan to purchase both big- and small-ticket items with a mobile shopping app; 20 percent plan to purchase all of the holiday gifts on their list using this method; 8 percent will only purchase small-ticket items under $100; 5 percent will only purchase big-ticket items over $100; and the remainder will not purchase any items at all.

To view all of PriceGrabber's holiday shopping press releases, please visit our press room at http://www.pricegrabber.com/about.php?about=press.

For savvy holiday shopping on any budget, visit http://www.pricegrabber.com. Download the mobile application for smart shopping on the go.

About PriceGrabber.com®
PriceGrabber, a part of Experian, is a leading online shopping site with more than 23 million unique shoppers monthly. At PriceGrabber, savvy shoppers can instantly find and compare millions of unique products and services across 25 categories with more than 11,000 merchants. Compare products side by side to find the right retailers at the best prices within popular categories, such as Digital Cameras, Electronics, Computers, Clothing, Books, TVs and more. PriceGrabber provides shoppers with the right product from the right merchant at the best price anytime, anywhere. Visit us at http://www.pricegrabber.com.

About Experian
Experian® is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 80 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2011 was US$4.2 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 41 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE PriceGrabber