Using phone as you shop ‘makes you think less, spend more’

WE’VE all experienced the moment when we’ve gone into a shop, forgotten what we were meant to be buying – and picked up something we didn’t even need instead.

Now t his niggling – and expensive – habit could be made worse if you’re using your mobile phone, experts say.

Research shows that shoppers who are chatting, texting, checking emails or listening to music on their phones while browsing the shelves become easily distracted from the task at hand.

And the effect continues even if you put your phone away halfway through the shop, a study shows.

More than 230 volunteers were asked to complete a simulated shopping task – either not using their phone, using it only intermittently, or using it constantly.

They were handed a list and asked to compare the items which ended up in their basket in each of the three scenarios.

In most cases, heavy phone use led to a ‘considerable distraction’ and more unplanned purchases.

The only exception was when the phone was being used for a task related to the shopping, such as researching a product.

Dr Michael Sciandra, who led the research at Fairfield University in Connecticut, US, said: ‘ Mobile phones are quickly becoming the principal distractor for many consumers, with 93% admitting to using their phones while out shopping.

‘Almost half of all in-store mobile phone use i s unrelated to the shopping task – and this is associated with more hedonistic unplanned purchases.’

Marketing experts are now warning that the findings could be exploited by shops to i ncrease i mpulse purchases by offering free WiFi and sending distracting messages such as recipes.

And stores could benefit from loyal customers who then pop back again to pick up the original item they forgot in the first place.

Dr Sciandra, an assistant professor of marketing, revealed t hat consumers are in the dark about the risks of over-spending.

‘The vast majority of shoppers we asked thought that mobile phones did not have any negative effect,’ the academic said.

‘ Our f i ndings may i nfluence consumers’ attitudes towards mobile phone use while shopping and persuade them to reflect on how these devices impact our lives, both positively and negatively.’

Meanwhile, other research suggested mobile phones offer a unique form of interruption; for example, they are more distracting to drivers than chatting with passengers.

Dr Sciandra added: ‘Across three studies, we find evidence that shopping-unrelated phone use results in c o nsi derable di s t r a c t i o n for consumers, and subsequently poor adherence to their shopping plan.’

He said that the findings ‘contradict prior work advocating the harmless nature of moderate mobile phone use’ and add to the growing research on the ‘carry-over effects of mobile phone distraction’.

He also said our mobile use could be a major money-spinner for the big retailers.

‘We believe that firms with a highly loyal customer base will find success in encouraging shopping-unrelated mobile device use in-store,’ he said.

‘Shopping-unrelated phone use will lead shoppers to buy more unplanned items and mismanage more planned items than normal.

‘For highly store-loyal shoppers, this result benefits retailers.

‘Not only are retailers maximising unplanned purchasing during the focal trip, if a shopper misses or forgets an item, this may necessitate a second shopping trip.

‘An additional trip may therefore have positive i mplications f or retailers’ bottom lines.’ The findings were published in the journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

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‘Result benefits retailers’