Smartphones are considerably more personal and private than PCs, so using them increases private self-focus; making choices using a personal smartphone, compared with a PC, tends to increase the preference for unique & self-expressive options

Phone and Self: How Smartphone Use Increases Preference for Uniqueness. Camilla Eunyoung Song, Aner Sela. Journal of Marketing Research, August 3, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437221120404

Abstract: One of the most dramatic shifts in recent years has been consumers’ increased use of smartphones for making purchases and choices, but does using a smartphone influence what consumers choose? This paper shows that, compared with using a personal computer (PC), making choices using a personal smartphone leads consumers to prefer more unique options. The authors theorize that because smartphones are considerably more personal and private than PCs, using them activates intimate self-knowledge and increases private self-focus, shifting attention toward individuating personal preferences, feelings, and inner states. Consequently, making choices using a personal smartphone, compared with a PC, tends to increase the preference for unique and self-expressive options. Six experiments and several replications examine the effects of personal smartphone use on the preference for unique options and test the underlying role of private self-focus. The findings have important implications for theories of self-focus, uniqueness seeking, and technology’s impact on consumers, as well as tangible implications for many online vendors, brands, and researchers who use mobile devices to interact with their respective audiences.

Keywords: smartphones, online shopping, mobile marketing, uniqueness seeking, self-expression, customization, self-focus