Do habits influence the types of information that smartphone shoppers seek?

Smartphones enable consumers to acquire information from non-store sources while shopping at traditional retail stores. Retailers need to respond to this development by first understanding the types of information that consumers seek with their smartphones and then crafting appropriate strategies. We propose that the types of information that a consumer searches for are affected by her habits resulting from her ownership and use of different types of electronic devices and her social capital. Specifically, we suggest that devices that allow for a specific type of information at home engender a habit of seeking similar type of information in other contexts such as the point of purchase. Consumers residing in rural areas and women are more likely to be in the habit of seeking information from friends and family because both tend to draw on their social capital for their decisions. Findings from our empirical analysis provide support to such effects.