November 3, 2009
The Alert Shopper Series #5 - Teens and Mobile Marketing
According to a new report from Pew Internet and American Life Project, mobile phone use has climbed steadily among teens. From 2004 to 2006, mobile phone use grew from 45% to 63%, and up to 71% in early 2008. Our Alert Shopper Series #5 examines this demographic.
Our in-person interviews provide insight into teen mobile usage, receptivity to message alerts and the increasingly important role the mobile phone will play in the future for this group. The teens we surveyed depend on their mobile phones throughout the day for a variety of functions, and find themselves checking text messages or phone calls frequently.
According to a recent comScore report, the most popular mobile activity for teens is texting (74%) and instant messaging (13%). Our video interviews highlight how essential this device is to teens, and that they welcome relevant text messages and monitor for messages throughout the day. Check out Oriana, a 19-year-old who checks her text messages while she’s out shopping, and Nick, a 16-year-old who doesn’t mind being interrupted to receive a message about a good sale going on.
A new report on Nielsen Wire shows that teens are now out-pacing the growth of the total mobile online audience, and texting outpaces calls by a factor of 10x among 13 – 17 year olds. One thing is for sure: teens have their phone next to them every waking hour of the day. Check out Rashane, an 18-year-old who has her phone with her all day, even beside her bed and in the shower!
Another common thread among the teens we interviewed is their phone will become even more of an important communication tool for them in the future. Teens rely on their mobile device to stay connected and are most embracing of technological advancements – they even welcome mobile ads. According to a recent Nielsen Global Devices Insights Report, the teenage demographic group is the most accepting of mobile advertising; the acceptance rate declines as age increases.
But don’t take our word for it – see for yourself in the video below:
October 26, 2009
The Alert Shopper Series #4 - Men and Mobile
According to recent data released by Nielsen in 2009, close to 60 million consumers accessed the web via mobile devices in July 2009, up from 42.5 million last year. Specifically, the male mobile audience grew 26 percent of that period. Our Alert Shopper Series #4 examines this segment.
Interviews we conducted offer a window into male shopping habits, brand loyalty and how men research their purchases. Whether they’re shopping at Best Buy, Jamba Juice, Target or Levi’s, interviewees are quite savvy when it comes to combining online and mobile research into the purchase process.
It’s no surprise that many of the men we spoke to exhibit purpose driven shopping habits. Check out Travis - a 30-year old who sifts through Craigslist, eBay and used items online to find the best deals, and even researches deals on his mobile phone while he’s out shopping. Then there’s Kevin, age 23, who mentions he has a solid handle on sales and deals in stores before he goes shopping. 39-year-old Anthony bought a camera from Target after researching its specs online.
Some of those surveyed admit that occasionally, other priorities get in the way of conducting online product research. Joseph, age 31, admits that he sometimes gets backlogged on emails and this prevents him from thoroughly researching products he’d like to buy. For the busy man, a quick mobile search in store is very valuable.
In fact, according to Alert Shopper #3 and our Harris Survey on consumer preferences for mobile marketing, 51% of men ages 18 to 34 expressed some interest in receiving alerts on their phones on new deals and promotions at their favorite establishments, which is significantly higher than interest among females of the same age group (34%).
Brand loyalty also appears to be a consistent theme among the men highlighted in our series. Kevin considers himself a pretty loyal Best Buy shopper, and reports shopping there about three times a month, while Anthony admits he shops at Target about once a week.
More interesting detail can be noted in the video above.
October 19, 2009
CNBC Features Results from The Alert Shopper
Last week, CNBC did a story on mobile devices and shopping. It’s exciting to see much of the findings of our Harris survey included within this piece.
Click Here to read the full article.
October 14, 2009
The Alert Shopper #3 - Exclusive Harris Interactive Survey
Today we announced our study with Harris Interactive on Americans and location-based shopping.
The survey, which was conducted online from July 20 to July 22, 2009 among 2,029 adults ages 18 and older, measured consumer sentiment towards using mobile devices as it relates to shopping, sales promotions and impulse purchases.
Some of our key findings included:
Consumers are interested in receiving alerts on their mobile phones from brands that they care about, provided they can opt-in and the messages are relevant. The responses indicate that 42% of 18 to 34 year olds and 33% of 35 to 44 year olds expressed some interest in receiving opt-in alerts on their cell phones from their favorite establishments.
9-in-10 U.S. adults have made an impulse purchase when they were out shopping in a store based on a sale or special going on around where they were. There is an opportunity to influence impulse purchases using a mobile phone: nearly a quarter of adults owning cell phones (22%) make this type of impulse purchase at least once per week or more often. Among women with cell phones ages 18 to 44, 27% report making at least one impulse purchase a week; among men 18 - 34, this number rises to 31%.
About 2-in-5 of these adults would like to receive alerts about sales for:
-Movie/event tickets (43%)
-Weather information (39%)
-Clearance or liquidation sales (37%)
About another 3-in-10 of these adults would want to be alerted about:
-Pizza (31%)
-Clothes (30%)
-Fast food (27%)
About one quarter would want to be notified about:
-Electronics (25%)
-Music (24%)
-Happy hour specials or bar and night club offers (21%)
If you are interested in learning more about this report, please contact cynthia.levitt@placecast.net
September 23, 2009
The Alert Shopper Series 2 - Moms and Mobile Marketing
There’s no question that moms are the primary decision maker when it comes to household purchases. Our Alert Shopper video series #2 examines this segment and is entitled “Moms and mobile marketing.” According to a DM News article, the mom is the most powerful consumer group in the U.S., comprising 75 million Americans with $2 trillion a year in spending power. That’s a lot of power and a very influential group. Ad agency Razorfish adds an important nuance in their latest report the Digital Mom. Marketers and retailers specifically should speak to women as both moms and women because their interests extend beyond her children.
Not unlike other superheroes, the American mom realizes that with great power comes great responsibility. Whether its managing family finances, balancing work priorities or planning vacations, our Alert Shopper mom interviewees do get frustrated when they miss out on sales. You’ll see a consistent theme throughout our video on this topic– moms repeatedly mention that their busy schedules leave them little time to research products and sales happening around them. In the video, 52-year-old mom, Karyn, often cannot find time to research products before she goes out shopping, so she depends on a handful of her favorite stores to make finding same-day sales and deals easy.
Despite the economic downturn, there are some promising reports on spending for the holiday season. The Marketing to Moms Coalition, a nonprofit industry group, surveyed 1,225 moms with children under 18 living at home and found that most moms plan to spend the same amount this year compared to last year, though moms are likely to spend more money if their kids are older. So when the holiday season surprises us all with how early it starts this year and moms are heading to Target, Walmart and Costco to do their holiday shopping, how can their mobile phone help them?
Irina, 38-year-old mom, thinks researching purchases before her shopping trip is very important, especially when budgets are tight. She frequently conducts research on her phone while shopping, and finds smartphones very helpful in searches for sales and specific products. Joni, 46-year-old mom, finds shopping research helpful only if she’s searching for something very specific; this leaves her occasionally feeling like she missed out on good deals. While shopping, she often brings her phone with her and checks her messages throughout the shopping trip.
Irina and Joni aren’t alone; moms across the country find their mobile phone a helpful shopping companion. In a recent ReadWriteWeb Article, visits to the Johnson and Johnson Babycenter mobile site is up 348 percent, and 91 percent of moms say they would never leave home without their phone. Razorfish’s Digital Mom report adds that moms choose mobile internet browsing (22%) and text-messages (17%) for research as they get closer to a purchase decision.
August 31, 2009
The Alert Shopper
Today at Placecast we are proudly announcing a six-part study known as The Alert Shopper.
It’s our expectation that The Alert Shopper will pioneer research in retail as it relates to understanding the role of the mobile device in commerce, mobile advertising and coupons. There’s been a lot of talk and hype about location-based services but it’s time to hear from real people on how mobile devices can improve their shopping experience.
The Alert Shopper is a series of both in-person and third-party research in conjunction with Harris Interactive on consumer shopping habits and interest around the use of mobile devices and alerts when shopping.
Over the next few months you will meet several consumers including Joni, a 46-year-old mother who talks to us about her dependence on her cell phone and her way of being a savvy shopper. Lauren, a 22-year old Twitter user would appreciate receiving alerts on her phone if there’s a sale in the area. You will meet Joseph, a 31-year-old early adopter, who shares how he looks for sales and what Levi’s can do to improve his experience. Rashane is the quintessential teen - an avid shopper who always has her phone on her. And you will meet Travis, a tech-savvy, careful shopper who researches products extensively online before shopping. These people and others offer unique insights into the mobile usage patterns of today’s American consumers.
Here’s a little teaser on what’s to come.
The Alert Shopper will cover trends as they relate to mult-location retail outlets like Target, Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Home Depot, Walgreens, Lowes, CVS, Sears, SuperValu, Rite Aid, Macy’s, Publix, JC Penney, GAP, Meijer, Staples, Toys ‘R’ Us, Office Depot, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Menards, Dillard’s, Giant Eagle, Auto Zone, PetSmart, Neiman Marcus, The Shack, Sheetz, Starbucks, and Dick’s — to restaurants like Sonic, Applebee’s, Chili’s Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Friday’s, Burger King, McDonald’s, Jack in the Box, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Subway, Wendy’s, Outback, Arby’s, Chick-Fil-A, Quiznos and The Cheesecake Factory .
Also we take at look at specialty stores such as REI, American Eagle, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Children’s Place, Brooks Brothers, Coach and Chanel.
