Smartphones a Shopping Tool for Millennial Parents, Study Says

A majority of millennial parents are using their mobile devices to help them shop at physical retail outlets, says a new study by Retale, a location-based mobile platform that connects more than 3.5 million shoppers with their favorite retailers.

In order to examine the differences in mobile shopping habits between millennial moms and millennial dads, the study polled over 500 men and women aged 18 to 34 years old across the US.

According to the study, 85 percent of millennial parents use their mobile devices in their shopping at brick-and-mortar stores.

Millennial moms and dads, however, vary in how they use their smartphones for shopping, the research noted.

Most dads use their phones for checking product reviews—a task that moms do the least.

For moms, the top reason why they use their mobile phones is to search for coupons and deals, but this task ranks fifth among the men.

Millennial parents also use their smartphones for comparing prices, checking store hours, researching products, accessing saved coupons and creating shopping lists.

“Millennial moms and dads use their mobile devices to support brick-and-mortar shopping in different ways,” said Pat Dermody, President of Retale. “However, despite varying preferences, it is clear that to meet the demands of both groups, retailers and retail service providers must lean heavily on mobile to compel online-to-offline engagement and sales.”

Deals remain a driving factor for millennial parent shoppers, the study noted.

Millennial parents are more likely to buy with a deal or coupon while near or in a store. Moms are also more driven to buy by deals and are more likely to do last minute research on deals and coupons, it added.