I read an interesting article on the phenomenon of “mobile blinders” recently — a term given to people who stand in the checkout lane using their smartphones to surf the web, text or check email. Apparently, so many people have their eyes on their phones while they’re waiting to check out that they’re not purchasing as many impulse-buy items! From Bloomberg News:
For years, publishers could count on bored shoppers waiting in the checkout line to pick up a magazine, get engrossed in an article, and toss it into their cart alongside the milk and eggs. Then came “mobile blinders.”
These days, consumers are more likely to send a quick text and check their Facebook feed than to read a magazine or develop a momentary craving for the gum or candy on display.
The problem has worsened in the past 18 months, as more than half of all Americans now carry smartphones, Loughlin said. Single-copy sales of U.S. consumer magazines fell 8.2 percent in the second half of 2012 from the year-earlier period, according to the industry group Alliance for Audited Media.
I’m always interested in stories about retail and shoppers’ experiences, but I hadn’t considered the effect of “mobile blinders” on sales. As someone who tries to avoid impulse buys anyway, this could be considered a benefit for shoppers looking to save money! But I can also see the retailers’ side too – they’re seeing sales drop in a category where they used to be able to count on items in the checkout lane moving frequently.