April 14, 2010
Research Report: Retail Goes Mobile
Today, we announced the release of a report titled “Retail Goes Mobile: Finding New Consumer Connections Through Mobile Devices” by Kathryn Koegel, President of Primary Impact Research. The report focuses on the latest research on mobile marketing within the retail sector.
This report reflects the next installment of our research, focused on helping marketers navigate the mobile landscape and develop strategies for connecting with consumers. This report which pulls together a cross-section of insights from the Harris Poll, Nielsen, comScore and TNS, as well as research from our own mobile programs, paints an exciting picture about the opportunity for mobile marketing in 2010.
With Apple’s recent announcements of the iPad and iAd, marketers everywhere are now more focused than ever on mobile. For retailers in particular, 2010 is clearly the year that they are universally testing this medium because of the uniquely personal, always on characteristics of the phone. From location-based SMS, WAP banners and text links, branded apps or ads in applications, retailers are now recognizing the power that the mobile device can have in driving traffic into physical stores.
We’ve been learning through our experience with brands and our consumer research, that place and time are a powerful predictor of consumer intent. As consumers, where we are and when we’re there says a lot about what we are interested in. Combining mobile and location can enable marketers to deliver a message when the consumer is in the mindset to take action: in research we conducted through the holiday season with three brands, 65% of consumers that opted-in to follow a brand made a purchase as a result of receiving messages based on place and time. In essence, location and time are the physical manifestation of purchase intent.
With 224 million mobile users engaged in texting, SMS has emerged as “the only form of mobile marketing to reach the entire mobile universe.” According to a Harris Poll consumer survey conducted on behalf of Placecast, 45% of 18-34 year-olds and 35% of 35-44 year olds were interested in receiving opt-in mobile alerts.
“Mobile phones now have consumer penetration rates that surpass the Internet, and marketers need to grasp the implications of ‘go-anywhere media,’ which is what mobile phones represent,” says Kathryn Koegel, who lead this research project. “Consumers use their phones to do everything from research products to check competitor retail pricing – even from within store locations,” she continues.
The full “Retail Goes Mobile” report is available here.
