Dive Brief:

• Consumers globally are using several digital devices to make choices and find prices, including when they shop in stores, according to a report by tech firm DigitasLBi.

• In the United States, 71% of consumers say that using a smartphone while shopping in a store affects their decisions. Half of consumers worldwide say their phones have changed the way they shop.

• Some 88% of shoppers worldwide say they shop online and buy offline, the report found. In the U.S., 89% of survey respondents said they researched products online before buying in store. That includes, but is not limited to, “showrooming,” or finding the cheapest price.

Dive Insight:

This report shows the power consumers hold in their hands in the form of mobile phones. Price remains a huge driver of purchases. Showrooming — the practice of checking prices of goods while in a store to see if a product is cheaper elsewhere — allows shoppers to be picky. But consumers are doing their research ahead of time too, and not just on price. Furthermore, the report found that shoppers are talking to each other on social media, making that another source of information about retail brands, not just e-commerce sites themselves.