Changing Trends in Mobile Shopping

By Amy Vale

Have you noticed that consumers shop in a totally different way to how they might have ten or even five years ago? No longer do people compare two or three products at home and then go into the store to make their purchase. In fact, the emerging trend now is for consumers to do the shopping research via their mobile devices while they are actually standing in the store. This is a process which has come to be known as “showrooming.” According to a recent study by Pew Research, 52% of American shoppers use their smartphone to perform research while standing in the aisle of a store, and what’s more is that 19% of these “showroomers” convert their offline/in-store purchase to an online retailer.  What does all this mean for retailers?

The traditional retail business model has fundamentally changed. Ten or fifteen years ago retailers had greater control over the flow of information that went to consumers, and there wasn’t nearly as much choice. Now, because there is so much information, so many alternatives, and the ability to compare and shop around while actually doing the act of shopping, retailers know that mobile has changed the way people shop, and they need to get on board with this fact or they’ll miss the train to mcommerce city.  

We have been hearing a lot of “brick-and-mortar” retailers getting stressed about the fact that they are losing business to online-retailers.  There is no denying that this shift in the way people shop has happened. Many people are shopping online rather than actually going into a store, because of convenience and with the goal of getting the best price. The real challenge for retailers now is to join forces with mobile; that is, bridge the virtual world of e-commerce with the physical one.  We know that consumers are using their smartphones while shopping, so retailers should find ways to capitalize on this and align themselves with the way consumers are shopping today.

The proliferation of QR codes is one example of how retailers have found a way of connecting the virtual or digital with the physical; using social media to connect with consumers and build brand presence in non-traditional places like Foursquare and other mobile apps that can also serve as the perfect mechanism for bridging the online and offline consumer. Consider things such as in-store check-in, e-commerce and in-store checkout, and the “virtual aisle”, which provides the ability to scan and order products via other media such as billboards and flyers. The lesson here is to find ways to blur the boundaries between the online and offline environment. If shoppers want to use their mobiles and smartphones while shopping, you have to find a way to make this work for you, and them.

Retailers should not see mobile and “showroom shopping” as a negative outcome of the shift in consumer behaviour, but rather as an opportunity to grow and head into the new retail sphere. It has become quite clear that retailers who wish to stay relevant need to embrace mobile as the future of the consumer experience.

Are We In The Post-PC Era Yet?

Are We In The Post-PC Era Yet?

by Amy Vale

In the past few months the question has been asked many times - is the desktop going the way of the landline, that is, disappearing in favor of the mobile device? There is lots of research currently  looking at the volume of desktop computers sold versus smartphones and tablets, so we thought that this week we would take a look at what is actually going on out there. Have we ventured out into the post-PC era yet?

A 2010 IBM study noted that "smartphone sales have exceeded PC sales for the first time. This is not a fluke, but one indication that we are entering a post-PC-era that will be dominated by highly-mobile, instant-on, and always connected, smartphones and tablets as the platform of choice to access network-based services. The impact of this on the enterprise is both inevitable and profound."

According to a recent Gartner study, 352.8 million PC’s were sold worldwide in 2011. To put it into perspective, Samsung alone estimates it sold 300 million handsets in 2011 and estimates it will sell 372 million in 2012 where 150 million of them are expected to be smartphones. While not all of Samsung’s mobile device sales will be smartphones, they are all mobile devices which tap into the web and run apps.

Some people are suggesting the struggling economy is what is responsible for hurting the sale of personal computers. Objectively, it probably is a contributing factor. However, the trend toward mobile and away from desktop computers is a powerful one that goes beyond the current economic climate. If someone doesn’t have the finances to buy a new PC, this makes the sale of smartphones or tablets even more compelling, especially if it comes with a monthly fee rather than an outright bill. Current generation mobile devices are attractively priced, often due to subsidies from the mobile telecom providers, making them quite affordable to a broad market.

We are increasingly witnessing a major cultural shift away from desktops and toward mobile devices, but this is nothing new. There are so many reasons why this is happening, but put simply, the mobile device is just taking over. If you consider how people are using their computers and accessing the web nowadays, it makes perfect sense. Very few people are actually sitting at a desktop computer for leisure purposes. This has meant that people are only turning to their PC’s at work, and even this is starting to change. A lot of offices and companies are turning to tablets as a way of running their businesses. With that said, it’s safe to say that the PC is not dead yet! Yet, being the operative word.

What Does The Future Of Mobile Look Like In The U.S.?

What Does The Future Of Mobile Look Like In The U.S.?

by Amy Vale

According to most recent studies, global sales of smartphones are expected to top 1 billion units by 2014. Credit Suisse also predicts that sales of the mobile devices will grow about 46% this year to 687.9 million units. The craziest statistic though is that reports are now saying that one-seventh of all of humanity has access to a smartphone. Mobile is just getting bigger and bigger and showing no signs of slowing down. But what does the future of mobile look like in the U.S. though?

 

When you look at the Mojiva infographic capturing the U.S. Hispanic mobile user market, we can see what the future of mobile will look like, at least within the United States. As background, within the Hispanic mobile user community, from our research Mojiva has found that 25% of users come from a household where the average income is between $25,000 and $50,000 and the highest number of users is the demographic between 25 and 34 years. Most importantly this group is also two times more interested in receiving ads, and likely to buy advertised products, than non-Hispanic mobile users. As for the purchasing power of the single largest ethnic group in the U.S making up 50 million people, (Yes, the Hispanic community) is a massive $1 trillion.

Considering this information in conjunction with the aforementioned 1 billion smartphone statistic, we can see that the future of mobile advertising within the U.S. is strongly connected with the younger demographic of Hispanic mobile users. This is just one interesting snapshot of what the U.S. mobile market is looking like currently and we think, has a pretty powerful prediction for the future too. Taking into account the fact that the expected sale of smartphones will reach 1 billion globally, and the Hispanic community alone in the U.S. has a purchasing power of $1 trillion, we can see that mobile is moving fast and growing exponentially, not just globally, but within the U.S. as well.

Given this new information that will shape the increasingly mammoth mobile industry moving forward, we are observing that publishers are realizing that traditional ad serving tools they might use for online ads sales is no longer an option for their growing mobile page views. A dedicated mobile campaign management platform is crucial,” said Dave Gwozdz, CEO of Mocean Mobile. “Earning top ad revenue from their audiences, which in many cases are now larger via mobile devices than online, has moved from ‘nice-to-have’ to ‘critical for the existence’ for these top publishers. Some publishers, only a few months ago, dismissed the importance of their mobile ad sales technology as a commodity. Not today, the progress of mobile is moving that fast.”

What is Bluecasting?

by Amy Vale

Bluecasting offers a new way for businesses and organizations to interact with consumers.

It is similar to Near Field Communication (NFC) and somewhat like Geofencing, but Bluecasting is the new mobile marketing technique to look out for. The proximity-based technology enables consumers to receive promotional material, or any digital media, on their mobile devices when they are within a certain proximity to a Bluetooth station which has been purposely set up. Some people are saying that this is the new mobile innovation to watch out for, as it allows businesses to interact with consumers in an innovative and effective way. Have you heard of Bluecasting and thought about how this could be useful for you?

So, how does it work? It sends out promotional digital media content using computer-controlled software and hardware which detects Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices when they are within proximity of a designated hotspot. The content is only broadcast to “interested” devices, meaning that it is currently an opt-in service. Consumers are sent a request for permission to send files, and once they have granted permission, Bluecasting units send files to those phones. Files could include things such as mobile applications, discount coupons, marketing brochures, videos, images, vCards and any other digital media.

We can envision this new mobile technology being used by marketing managers from large businesses or organizations to improve brand awareness. It has the benefit of delivering direct messages to customers or clients and provides the opportunity to capitalize on viral marketing. Companies also select the public place from which to send out their messages to large groups of people at any given time. For example, public transit locations are by nature saturated with people nearly all of the time, giving advertisers a perfect opportunity to reach a great number of people with their promotional material or mobile advertising.

Bluecasting pulls together smartphone and wireless technologies such as near field communication (NFC) which has, for example, enabled users to carry out financial transactions with the digital wallet phenomenon, and  Geofencing, the technology which refers to virtually fenced-off geographic locations, for example, a radius around a shopping mall, where consumers can receive messages and special offers designed to incentivize them to walk into the store. With Bluecasting though, we are seeing mobile marketing taking centre stage. It isn’t necessarily about shopping or the delivery of deals or coupons; Bluecasting technology could be used by businesses or publishers to deliver mobile advertising in a new and innovative way. Think about the way a new app could be marketed, or any digital material that you want to send out to relevant users. This could be a whole new way of thinking about mobile advertising.