Mobile phones and the practice of shopping: A study of how young adults use smartphones to shop

The aim of this paper is to explore, illustrate and conceptualise how the introduction of mobile phones transforms the practice of shopping. Drawing on a focus group study of young adults and making use of Practice Theory, this paper shows that the introduction of mobile phones reconfigures the practice of shopping subsequently transforming the agency of consumers. Mobile phones enable consumers to access, store, and process information in new ways; supporting new modes of social shopping, enabling consumers to change the experience of shopping, and making them better equipped economic actors with more access to financial systems and new calculative capacities. While this new agency is beneficial to consumers, it also causes them stress and anxiety.