An increasing numbers of Kiwi shoppers are turning to their mobile devices to shop, but the way they use them is evolving, shows Colmar Brunton’s latest survey.

While the use of smartphones and tablets for shopping is on the rise, New Zealand shoppers are less inclined to use shopping apps and Facebook.

There has been a rapid rise in the ownership of mobile devices by Kiwis over the past two years, with 75 per cent of consumers now owning a smartphone, compared to 47 per cent in 2012.

During the same period tablet ownership has increased from 21 per cent to 49 per cent. The use of smartphones for shopping has risen from 26 per cent to 34 per cent in the past year, with tablets still slightly more popular for mobile shopping.

Shoppers in New Zealand are taking less notice of Facebook advertising, with a decrease in its impact from 27 per cent to 20 per cent in the past year.

Word of mouth and direct marketing are having more effect on shopping purchases, said Jacqueline Ireland, CEO of Colmar Brunton.

This matches previous research by the company that suggests Kiwis are subbing social media networks as an advertising platform.

Not surprisingly, 80 per cent of mobile shoppers say that ease of navigation is the most important characteristic when shopping on websites or using apps.

While shopping apps are still popular with 33 per cent of smartphone users and 19 per cent of tablet users, 15 per cent of Kiwis say shopping apps just weren’t for them – an increase of six per cent from last year.

Ireland said the jury’s still out on the benefits of shopping apps, and although the majority of shoppers are yet to use one, 44 per cent would consider it.

“Familiarity is a big factor at play here with approximately 75 per cent of people who use shopping apps or websites saying they typically do so after already being familiar with the brand.”

The results come from a survey of 653 New Zealanders with a margin of error of + or– four per cent.