Shopping Popularity Advances on Mobile Devices

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According to new report from Usablenet, most smartphone owners are reaching out with their smartphone to shop, and not to talk. Over three-quarters (79 percent) of American shoppers and two-thirds (64 percent) of British shoppers are using smartphones for browsing and shopping via both websites and mobile apps.

Looking deeper at the report we find that 70 percent of American shoppers have their mobile phone while shopping in-store and that a full 30 percent of US shoppers report that they use those mobiles to get a better in-store shopping experience. Additionally it is reported that 77 percent of American shoppers prefer browsing via their smartphone but buy using a tablet or computer. Not surprisingly, most American shoppers do not bring tablets into stores with them (78 percent).

“Right now, we are seeing retail shoppers regularly using their mobile devices to check all sorts of store and product related information while they are shopping” states Kimber Johnson, Pacific App Design’s Managing Director. “Currently there is a massive opportunity for retailers to integrate mobile with their in-store experience and we are seeing savvy businesses taking advantage of this opportunity.”

To better appeal to mobile shoppers, Usablenet suggests that retailers should focus making it simple to buy online, or in-store, by expediating check-outs and making it quick and easy to find about product availability or other product data.

Smartphone Market Continues to Show Huge Growth

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comScore has just published a new report detailing that currently 147.9 million people in the U.S. own smartphones (62% of the mobile market). This is up 4.5% since just June of 2013. Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer in their report with 40.6% of the market, while Google’s Android OS led as the top smartphone OS platform with 51.8% of the OS market share.

Over this time period, of the manufacturers, only Apple and Samsung achieved any degree of market share growth (with HTC, Motorola and LG losing market share). Apple ranked as the No. 1 manufacturer with 40.6% of U.S. smartphone subscribers (up 0.7% since June) and Samsung placed second with 24.9% market share (up 1.2%).

Google sites ranked as the top web property when it comes to reach on smartphones, reaching 90% of the mobile media audience (both mobile browsing and app usage), followed by Facebook at 84%, Yahoo! Sites at 82.2% and Amazon Sites at 65.5%. Facebook came in as the top smartphone app, reaching 74.3% of the mobile application audience.

With a current market of 147.9 million people just in the U.S., the mobile market shows no signs of slowing and the mobile web and mobile app markets are becoming increasingly more important as these markets continue to grow.

The Power of Rich Media on Mobile Devices

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In a recent report from JumpTap, new data shows that auto ads are currently quite successful at grabbing the attention of mobile users’ due to the use of rich media.  The data further shows that tablet users are engaging a full 180% more with mobile auto ads that are built using rich media.

Some other interesting items in their data indicate that drivers of trucks are more likely to use Android devices while SUV drivers are more likely to be using Apple devices. And that auto related information is most likely reviewed in the early morning on PCs but on mobile devices early evening is the prime slot.

But it isn’t just auto buyers who are responding more often on mobile devices. Mobile consumers are looking for all types of video on mobile devices. And while many are watching video, others are reading content from publishers. Confirming PQMedia’s recent digital media spending forecast that predicts that digital media content and technology spending will push $1 trillion by 2017.

“We are seeing growing numbers of customers looking to build mobile applications that utilize rich media such as video,” states Kimber Johnson, Managing Director of Pacific App Design, “As the mobile application industry is rapidly maturing this is one of the trends that is standing out. Along with strong growth of mobile application use in retail settings and more and more powerful and functional business applications, this is one area that is making strong headway.”

Along with the growth of the use of rich media, better integration of online display advertising with mobile will be a key driver for increased spending on mobile display marketing next year. As evidenced by the success in the auto industry, we are seeing this need starting to be filled.

Don’t Forget Click to Call on Mobile Web Sites

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In a recent survey, taken by Google and Ipsos, data suggests that promoting telephone calls from mobile sites is very important. Specifically, the survey shows the value of a “click to call” button included on mobile web sites and in search data, as a substantial number, 70 percent, of users using mobile search used the “click to call” directly from Google’s search results.

But why are searchers using “click to call”? 59 percent of mobile searchers stated that it was the need for speed that motivated them to utilize “click to call”, 57 percent wanted to speak to a real person and 54 percent said they needed more information than the website could provide. Breaking down the data further, the primary reasons stated for calling a were to check business hours (52 percent), making a reservation or scheduling an appointment (51 percent) or to inquire about inventory, availability or booking information (47 percent).

Businesses that don’t have a “click to call” button in search results risk losing business to their competition. 41 percent of mobile searchers will check out other brands in the event their chosen brand has no “click to call” and another 41 percent state being annoyed and frustrated by the lack of “click to call” feature.

“Based on the research, driving phone calls should be a priority for businesses.” says Kimber Johnson, Managing Director of Pacific App Design. “A click to call button has been shown to be very effective in turning searchers into potential customers and should not be ignored in a businesses mobile marketing efforts.”

Keys To Successful Mobile Marketing

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The key ingredient to being successful at mobile marketing is a simple message presented in the correct context. Personalization is important, and beyond that it is crucial to make the consumer feel that using your service or buying your product will help make their life better.

Take a moment and think about your your current set of advertisements.  Are they useful for your customers? Is there some action they can take right now? A great way to take advantage of the opportunities offered by mobile marketing is to utilize immediacy and location in your marketing. Present a deal that they can use in their current location right now. One great advantage mobile devices have over PCs is built in GPS, which will allow users to receive to information that is location specific.

Since people carry their smartphone with them wherever they go, they are a powerful tool when it comes personalizing advertisements that are location specific. Savvy marketers can capitalize on this to create person specific and location specific advertisements. When advertisements are personally relevant, users are much more likely to click on them because they are relevant to them and if you add in a location specific component you are looking at truly powerful advertising.

Presenting the right information in the right format with your mobile website and mobile advertisements is extremely important. If either of them is difficult to navigate or confusing, consumers will simply click away. Make sure you also take into account the lower bandwidth of 3G and 4G devices when compared traditional internet connections and the smaller screen format.

If this seems difficult, divide your mobile marking program into parts and start with the part that  seems most manageable. Perhaps a mobile web site would be the easiest way to start and while you are working with a professional mobile web site developer you can sharpen your skills in mobile marketing and then move forward into mobile advertising.