CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Aug 20, 2014) - Retale, the leading location-based shopping platform aggregating weekly circulars from top line retailers for mobile and digital devices, today announced the results of a commissioned study examining the shopping behavior of parents this back-to-school season. The study focused on two key areas -- the use of mobile devices, as well as overall spending trends, polling 1,000 parents with school-aged children grades K-12.

Among parents that own a mobile device (e.g., smartphone, tablet), 73 percent use them to shop for back-to-school items, with the most common mobile shopping activities as follows: viewing deals (97 percent), comparing prices (96 percent), accessing coupons (92 percent), finding stores (86 percent), building shopping lists (86 percent), and buying directly from the device (79 percent).

On average, more than half (54 percent) of these activities take place both in and out-of stores as mobile devices are increasingly used to support both experiences. A look into location preference for back-to-school shopping habits is shown in the chart below.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL MOBILE ACTIVITY		IN-STORE		OUT-OF-STORE		BOTH
View Product Deals		17 percent		15 percent		65 percent
Compare Product Prices		16 percent		15 percent		65 percent
Access Coupons		17 percent		13 percent		62 percent
Find Store Locations		15 percent		25 percent		46 percent
Make Shopping Lists		14 percent		28 percent		44 percent
Buy Directly From Mobile Devices		13 percent		26 percent		40 percent

Most notably, nearly one in five parents (17 percent) are browsing deals, comparing prices, and accessing coupons in-store, showing just how critical mobile is to the brick-and-mortar experience. Of course, retailers are not only connecting with customers in-store, but out-of-store as well.

"Mobile has quickly become almost everybody's versatile shopping buddy," says Pat Dermody, president of Retale. "Customers are using it in a myriad of ways, both in-store and out-of-store, in order to complete their shopping journeys. From finding store locations to seeking deals and savings, customers are telling retailers that they expect to see them on their mobile device. What that means for retailers is that they must continue to move aggressively to develop a meaningful presence at multiple points in mobile all of which might be accessed at any time by a potential customer."

Also, according to the survey, 76 percent of parents plan to spend the same amount or more on back-to-school spending as compared to last year, while 24 percent plan on scaling back and spending less.

Additionally, waiting until Labor Day sales to begin back-to-school shopping now only applies to 3 percent of parents. 36 percent will shop throughout the summer for items, while almost half of parents (47 percent) have already begun to pick-up their back-to-school products.

For more information on Retale, visit www.retale.com.

About Retale

Retale, a U.S. location-based mobile app and website that aggregates weekly retail circulars, is a member of Bonial International Group working with top retailers from across the country to give shoppers a digital alternative to print circulars. Retale is available on the web, mobile, tablet and as a downloadable app. With a presence in Chicago, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Barcelona, Moscow and São Paulo, Bonial has more than 13 million users worldwide and 300 employees.