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Shopping in the digital age: The smartphone as a shopping center

30. January 2019 Published by Raphael Doerr

Want to buy the latest headphones or fashionable sneakers easily and conveniently while you’re in the waiting room? Or quickly order a present for a birthday party at the weekend just before you go to sleep? Shopping in the digital age – that means finding everything your heart desires in the Internet, round the clock and no matter where you are. That saves trawling through packed shopping precincts and the product you want is delivered to your doorstep a few days later. Or would you prefer to go to the shop after all and actually try the headphones out and the sneakers on?

People with an Internet connection also shop online

To shop online or offline – is that the question? Not really in Germany, since 80% of Germans like shopping both in the store and on the web. There’s an affinity for online shopping among those who have an Internet connection, as a study on behalf of Germany’s digital association Bitkom. If we have an Internet connection, we also buy things online.

Mobile shopping is on the rise

Whether with the shop’s own app or a mobile browser – more and more online shops are chalking up successes not only with customers who order from the PC, but also using a smartphone. That’s no surprise: If you don’t just have to rely on your home PC, you can use waiting times or daily train journey to work to search very easily for a pair of jeans or the right birthday present for a friend. Every second person in Germany use their mobile phone to do that. In particular, 14- to 29-year-olds like shopping from their smartphone when they’re out and about. However, older generations are also increasingly discovering mobile shopping for themselves: Almost a third of those aged 50 to 64 and one-in-ten of those above 65 shop using their smartphone. The Gigaset smartphone range offers the right device to make mobile shopping child’s play for people of every age.

Ratings are a crucial guide

When you shop online, it’s often not that easy to decide which of the many web shops you’d actually like to buy something from. Apart from the criteria of price, means of payment and free delivery, Germans increasingly rely on ratings by other users. 63% read the opinions of other customers beforehand and 53% even choose their online shop on the basis of them. That’s what makes online shopping so practical – you have the entire breadth of information on the web on hand right away to research and compare.

Fresh food is still purchased offline

Whether it’s technology, clothing, sports equipment or beauty articles – just about everything can now be bought by smartphone in the digital age. One striking aspect, however, is that the online boom in the food industry has yet to materialize. 29% of Germans have already ordered food in the web and 35% could imagine doing so. Many see particular problems and have misgivings about being delivered fresh and perishable produce. It remains to be seen what logistics solutions online food retailers can come up with in the future. One possible remedy might be Smart Lock – the deliverer might then theoretically be able to put food in the fridge right away. And if you find that a bit too weird, then you can still go to the grocer, market or discount store.