What’s Your Go-To Device?

Technology has made our lives easier in so many ways. But, it’s also made it confusing at the same time.  Today, we’ve got a vast array of devices and platforms to get the news from.  New research has been released that shows what devices go-to first when looking for news and information.

• Nearly half of all consumers said that the TV was their go to device

• Just under 20% replied laptop and 15% said desktop computer

• 8% of those surveyed said their smart phone was the device they relied on most for news & information and 4% said tablet

• Women were more likely than men to have the TV as their go-to device

• Among 18 to 34 year olds, 30% responded they relied most on their TV, but 28% responded laptop

• Nearly one in four 18 to 34 year olds also said that mobile devices (smart phones & tablets) were their first option for news and information

What Does This Mean To You?

The ways we find news and information, especially breaking news, are constantly evolving.
Think about how you find out Michael Jackson passed away?
Now think about the way you heard that Pope Benedict resigned this morning?
Mobile is becoming the conduit from which people are getting their news and information.
It’s not just the mobile web; it’s also social media and email moving to mobile first.
Your business needs to be fully optimized for mobile.  Not just your web presence, but your social sites as well.  For more information on utilizing mobile to get results, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; Belkin

More Mobile Shoppers

Last week, we had a post that showed the growth of mcommerce dollars and how tablets looked be the go-to mobile shopping device.  Today, we’ll look into how the number of mobile shoppers is expected to rise and its affect on overall ecommerce.

• This year, the number of consumers engaging in mobile commerce is projected to reach 118 million people

• That makes up over 60% of everyone who shops digitally

• In 2016, the number of mobile shoppers will likely hit nearly 175 million consumers.  That’s a jump of nearly 50% in just 3 years

• Mobile consumers will make up 85% of total digital shoppers by 2016

• The number of mobile buyers will also increase. In 2012, 55% of mobile shoppers made a purchase.  By 2014, it is expected that almost 70% of mobile shoppers will buy something on their device.

• The average purchase made on a mobile device is anticipated to jump 54% from 2012 to 2016

What Does This Mean To You?

This one of the clearest examples of why your business needs to invest and stay invested in mobile. More consumers, making more purchases, spending more money.
If your business is not fully engaged in mobile, you are probably losing out on sales and helping your mobilized competition be more successful.
Mobile makes finding your business, researching your products and buying your merchandise quicker and easier.  The more convenient you make doing businesses with you, the more likely you are to be successful.  For more information on how you can grow your business with mobile, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer

Consumers And Mobile Banking Apps

Recently, we’ve published posts on how popular mobile banking and consumer behaviors that will probably come from it. We’ve said many times that the reason why consumers are so dependent on their mobile device is convenience. The same could be said for mobile banking apps. While it may be fun to work “banker’s hours”, those hours don’t make physically visiting financial institutions convenient at all. Online banking and now mobile banking have made banking easier. New research is out that gives information on the percentage of mobile banking and what mobile banking customers are looking for.

• In a recent survey, 44% of consumers had downloaded a banking app

• Among those who have downloaded a mobile banking app, 55% say they use the app more now than when they first downloaded it

• Two-thirds of mobile banking customers expect to receive notifications immediately when their balance is low or are in an insufficient funds situation

• Seven in 10 want to receive communications to help them avoid financial trouble

• Among 18 to 24 year olds, Three-quarters of them expect notifications

• Less than half of mobile banking consumers said they receive balance updates, One-third were notified when their balance was low and three in 10 receive messages when a bill is due

• 13% of users want to get notifications through their app (push notifications), over 20% said they wanted to get notices via SMS text and nearly half wanted to get the information through email

 What Does This Mean To You?
There are a couple of big take-aways from this research. First being that mobile banking may be the first step towards mobile point of sale payment. While mobile payment through sites like Pay Pal have been around for years, there is mounting evidence that making payments directly through your mobile device is on the way. Whether it’s through scanning or NFC, mobile point of sale can make checking out very easy.
The other take-away is that consumers are open to receiving direct notifications from merchants, if they find the content valuable. SMS and email can be key components to a loyalty program and can help you create sales from existing customers. For more information on how mobile technology can help your business better engage prospective customers, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
http://www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit
Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; Wakefield Research

Luxury Shoppers Expect Mobile Optimized Experiences

There was a time not too long ago when luxury shoppers lagged behind the
general population in mcommerce adoption.  There were a variety of
reasons for this, affluent consumers tended to fall into older age
brackets and those consumers were in the early stages of mobile
adoption. Also, affluent shoppers liked the personal service and
attention from shopping in store.  New research suggests that luxury
shoppers now expect retailers to be mobile-ly optimized and are active
mcommerce participants.

• Over half of affluent shoppers expect the brands they shop to have a mobile site and 49% anticipate them to have a mobile app

• Over 40% think these brands should have mobile purchasing functionality and over one-third expect the mobile site to offer the same assortment of products & services as the retailer’s desktop site

•  Over a quarter of luxury shoppers own a tablet compared to roughly 16% of US web users

• Nearly 60% of digital luxury shoppers have made a mobile purchase compared to 12% of total smart phone owners

• The median age of a digital luxury shopper in the US is 37%, which is much younger than the median age of a mainstream digital shopper.  Their median age is 44

What Does This Mean To You?

If your business targets upper-end consumers, mobile is a must have.  Not having a mobile site could eliminate half of your potential target shoppers.  Not having a mcommerce option could purge 40% of them from your customer base.  This buying segment values service as well as convenience.  Things like mobile chat and mobile product videos are things that will enhance their experience and build loyalty to your business.  The fact that these shoppers are more inclined to be tablet owners also gives you more options to improve their shopping experience.  Large screen sizes and enhanced features can help you better show off everything you have to offer.  For more information on how your business can engage the luxury mobile consumer

please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
http://www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; Forrester

The Mobile Future

Last week, we published a post on the huge growth of mobile shopping year over year.  Mobile allows you put your message in the palms of prospective consumer’s hands on devices they have with them most of the time. New research has come out that looks into the future growth of mcommerce and the devices consumers will be using.

• In 2013, it’s estimated that over $38 billion in mcommerce will take place. Over 60% is projected to take place on tablets

• By 2016, mcommerce is anticipated to reach over $86 billion.

• Over the next few years, tablets are expected to be the main conduit for mobile shopping.  By 2016, $7 out of every $10 in mobile spending will come from a tablet

From now to 2016, mobile sales via tablet are predicted to grow by over 150%.  Mcommerce from smart phones are likely to grow by over 80%

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile is constantly evolving and that means more ways for you to influence prospective customers & more ways for consumers to find your business and buy things from you.  It also means there are more ways for your competition to take business away from you.  It’s important for you not to think of your marketing plans and mobile tactics as set in stone.  Be ready to pivot as new technology becomes available and consumer’s use of mobile technology changes. Things like mobile payment adoption, more uses for near field communication and increased acceptance of augmented reality can increase convenience for mobile users  and increased engagement with your business.  For more information on how to stay ahead of the mobile curve, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer

Making Mobile Shopping More Convenient

In yesterday’s post, we looked at research that showed what tablet shoppers thought would make their experience better. Today, we’re going to look at overall mobile shopping and the factors that could make it more convenient for consumers.  Convenience is one of the factors driving the rapid growth in mobile.  The convenience of having the device around at all times, the convenience of nearly instantaneous web access and the convenience of mobile sites.  New research is available that looks at what consumers think would make
shopping via mobile more convenient.  This can help your business build a
better mcommerce strategy.

•

he most important thing to mobile shoppers was the finding the products they want to buy – nearly one in four mobile shoppers answered that way

• One in six mobile shoppers wanted the checkout process to be easier, 16% said that it should be easy to check out

• Just over 10% were looking for easier access to their billing information and 8% wanted improved sharing tools

What Does This Mean To You?

As we’ve seen in prior posts, mobile shopping is sharply on the rise.  As consumers are becoming more mobile-ly enabled, they expect more from your mobile offerings. If your site is not convenient to use and navigate, consumers will look to other competitive sites. One of the things to measure is your rate of shopping cart abandonment.  This will help you gauge your checkout process.  The ability to share was lower on the list of mobile “wants” but can be important in the future.  Social is rapidly becoming a mobile-first function.  Sharing is one of the chief functions of social shopping.  The more consumers share your products, the more exposure your brand and products receive. For more information on how to increase the results from your mcommerce tactics, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; SiteWorx

Mobile Web vs. Apps Over The Holidays

Apps are one of the things that makes mobile devices special.  They can also be fairly expensive for a small business to develop.  Over the holidays, a record number of apps were downloaded but evidence suggests that consumers are not too keen on single store apps for shopping.  A new report looks into app vs. WAP use and what might make a shopper visit a single store app.

• 66% of smart phone users preferred to use a retail store’s mobile site vs. downloading their app

• When asked what would encourage them to download an app, nearly 20% said a special offer

•  11% said that the app would need to be faster than the store’s mobile site

• One in 10 said that their needed to be loyalty benefits to using the app

• Five percent said that the checkout process must be streamlined

• Over half of smart phone shoppers surveyed said that there were no benefits that would encourage them to download a single retailer app

What Does This Mean To You?

For a single store, their mobile site is much more valuable to shoppers than their custom app.
Developing an app can be cost and resource intensive, if your business is still interested in an app – remember what consumers want. They want discounts and speed.  They also want conveniences such as stored information to make checking out easier.  The other option is to investigate aggregator shopping apps or advertising positions on other apps.  This gives you the benefit of added traffic without the expense of developing an app.  One of the things you need to do is promote the fact you are involved in these apps.  For more information on forging winning mobile strategies, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; SiteWorx

How Consumers Used Mobile Devices Over The Holidays

From prior posts, we’ve chronicled information on much mobile shopping activity was done this past holiday season. Today, we’ll look at what types of shopping activity were done via smart phone and tablet.  This information can help you fine tune your mobile strategies for the future.

• One-third of smart phone owners used their device to look up store hours, directions and locations. 20% of tablet owners looked for the same information

• 19% of smart phone owners and 18% of tablet owners read product reviews on their devices respectively

• Tablet owners were 28% more likely than smart phone owners to compare prices on their devices

• The biggest difference was in making a purchase.  13% of smart phone owners bought something over the holidays on their device.  19% of tablet owners completed a sale on their device

What Does This Mean To You?

While smart phones and tablets are both mobile devices, how consumers use them is different.  Smart phones are used much more often in-store or in transit than tablets.  This makes sense – it’s bad enough to see people drive and use their smart phone, image them trying to type on a tablet and drive.  Also, while many tablets are 3G & 4G enabled, many more are run from wifi.
Research suggests that consumers use tablet more to complete the sale.  Users are checking prices and buying items more often on tablets.  One of the big buzz words you’ll be hearing more about this year is device agnostic.  It basically means that that users will have the same digital experience on whatever device they connect with.  Layouts will automatically scale to the screen size of the device that are accessing on no matter if it’s a smart phone, tablet or phablet (new buzzword alert. A phablet is described as a smaller sized tablet – usually with a 5 inch screen).  These design improvements can help you better display your merchandise to mobile users.  For more information on how your mobile site can contribute more to your bottom line, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; SiteWorx

Frequency of Mobile Social Activity

Last week, we learned that social activity is becoming mobilized.  While nearly all social networkers may access sites from a desktop, the frequency of access on mobile devices is astounding.  Knowing how often social media users visit networks on their mobile devices can definitely help shape winning social tactics.

•

Six in 10 smart phone owners access social sites from mobile devices on a daily basis

• That is up 11% from last year

• 14% access on a weekly basis and 7% visit monthly

• 16% of smart phone owners have never accessed a social site from their device

• Social networkers who own have visited a site from a mobile device tend to be younger, have higher household incomes, are more likely to work in White-Collar occupations and have children in their household

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile social networkers are very active in accessing social presences.  Their demographics also suggest they make a great target audience for many different types of businesses.  How do you get them to become more socially engaged with your business?

• Incorporate QR codes into your point of sale and other marketing material – Link that QR code to your social presence and provide an instant discount for “liking”, following or checking in

• Deliver mobile coupons to your followers

• Create presences on native mobile social sites – Develop Twitter feeds, promote Instagram tags & generate badges for FourSquare

• Engage users – This is important, don’t forget the social part of social media.  When someone checks in, tweets or updates their state status indicating they are at your location – Recognize them and thank them for their patronage

Mobile & social are not things that are going away. Everyday more people are adopting mobile and engaging social networks. Adopting strategies and creating tactics to optimize and monetize these activities is a wise investment for the future.  For more information on making more revenue with mobile and social functions, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; Google; Ipsos; The 2012 Scarborough Report, Release 1

Social Media Moves Toward Mobile First

Social media has evolved from a small niche platform to a mainstream
force that businesses need to understand to be successful.  The way
people access social media is also evolving.  It started as a desktop
activity but the rise of mobile adoption has changed that completely.
More social presences are being designed as native mobile functions and
existing social sites are rapidly moving toward being more of a mobile
entity.  A new report is out that shows how and where social networkers
are accessing these sites.

Over 90% of social users have accessed a network on lap top or desktop devices, but that number has fallen year over year.

• In 2012, 46% of social networkers visited a site on their mobile phone

• Visitation via mobile phone rose 24% year over year

• The biggest jump came from tablet visitation.  Nearly one in six social media users accessed a site from a tablet in 2012

• From 2011 to 2012, the number of social networkers who visited a presence from their tablet increased by over 400%

What Does This Mean To You?

Mobile technology has brought social media from the home to into your business.  From earlier posts we know that consumers are using their devices in store.  Besides “showrooming”, this activity gives them the ability to make comments on your business through your company’s social presence as well as their own.  It can put negative information on your organization in full view of potential shoppers.  But, it also can give positive information, such as “likes” and encouraging comments the same publicity.  Including social reputation into your marketing strategy is something to strongly consider. Why?

• Consumers tend not to shop at stores with negative information on social presences

• Social media users are more likely to share both negative and positive experiences

• Shoppers are relying on social media as a customer service function

• Social reputations influence in-store and online shopping behaviors

Social reputation management can help you clean up negative, incorrect or misleading information about you on social presences.  It also should address how to deal with positive comments and how you are going to promote them.  Look at positive comments as virtual testimonials.  To encourage them, you need to reward them. For more information on how to improve your social reputation, please contact your Sun Sentinel representative or:
Julie Otto
Advertising Marketing Manager
954.425.1158
jotto@sunsentinel.com
www.sunsentinel.com/mediakit

Source: eMarketer; Nielsen