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Nielsen: Shoppers prefer mobile web over apps

March 14, 2012

Retail websites are more popular than retail apps, according to a recent Nielsen survey, but no matter how consumers prefer to reach their favorite online retailers, Nielsen confirmed that shoppers are increasingly mobile, according to a story on mobilepaymentstoday.com.

Nielsen said it metered the smartphones of 5,000 U.S. volunteers participating in Nielsen's mobile research during the 2011 holiday season. According to survey results, "the top retail apps and websites combined — Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Walmart — reached nearly 60 percent of smartphone owners."

Additional findings from Nielsen included:

• Men and women prefer mobile websites over mobile apps, though men are more likely to try mobile apps from retailers by a slight margin. And consumers using mobile apps spend more time on them.
• Of the top retailer sites, Target and Walmart mobile website users tend to be female, but Best Buy users tend to be male. (Amazon and eBay showed no gender bias.)

Read more about consumer behavior.