3-On Your Side: Shopping Apps Aren't Catching On
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- While there may be an app for just about everything these days. Have you used one to shop from your phone yet? Probably not. Because as 3-On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds, many consumers say good shopping apps are few and far between. In fact one recent study of 500 major retailers, only 7 percent had a mobile app that could be used for shopping.
For price comparisons on her mobile phone, Caty Kobe has a couple of apps for that, like Overstock.com and Amazon price check. She says, "It allows you to take a picture of the barcode and then it matches the barcode with the Amazon prices." Kobe is tech savvy and loves the idea of mobile shopping. But she rarely makes actual purchases from her phone. She says, "Truthfully, a little mobile version of your website just doesn't cut it." Caty has had issues connecting to sites, has concerns about security and says many retailers' apps aren't user friendly.
CNET's, Josh Lowensohn, says while retailers are trying to create a mobile presence they're falling short of total success. According to Lowensohn, "There's still this weird divide between a mobile website and a mobile app." Mobile shopping represented less than 3 percent of total e-commerce sales last year. What can you expect in the months to come? Experts say to watch for more apps from retailers and new ways to use the technology on smartphones, like the camera and touchscreen.
Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3
