The price of contemplation: Shoppers browsing on more than one device spend 23% extra

New cross-device study reveals that smartphones usually start the battle for attention – but desktops finish it

London, 2nd May 2018: An indecisive shopper is not necessarily a bad one, according to CJ Affiliate’s new Cross-Device Intelligence Report. Consumers using more than one device to make a purchase spend almost a quarter more (23%) than single-device shoppers. In fact, multi-device shoppers who begin browsing on a smartphone spend 37% more than single-device shoppers, representing a clear opportunity for retailers.

“We’ve all hesitated over a big purchase at one time or another, but this is great news for retailers and marketers,” explains CJ Affiliate’s Head of Strategy for Europe, Owen Hancock. “Longer decision-making processes mean higher value orders, partly because shoppers will be exposed to more products and advertising when they’re browsing for longer periods of time.”

According to the study, almost equal numbers of users start their browsing on ‘mobiles’ and ‘desktops / laptops’ before finishing on a ‘desktop / laptop’ device (30% and 31% respectively) clearly showing that consumers still prefer to finish purchases with a larger display and interface. Slightly more users (48% vs 47%) start cross-device purchases on a smartphone compared to ‘desktop / laptop’ devices, highlighting the smartphone’s ‘browsing power’ in the early stages of buying.

“Cross-device tracking has quickly become an essential tool for marketers,” concluded Hancock. “Without cross device tracking retailers can’t hope to make informed decisions about how to invest their resources effectively and get the best possible results in the future.”