Shoppers would rather visit a store if it was within five miles rather than buy online via their smartphone, according to new research.
The findings, from location-based mobile media firm JiWire, also found that 30% of people asked ‘do not care’ about checking-in, while a further 35% do not like or understand it.
JiWire’s latest Mobile Audience Insights Report examines connected-device adoption, location- and mobile-shopping trends, as well as check-in behaviour and public Wi-Fi trends.
This quarter’s report uncovers several key emerging trends in the location and mobile markets that include the following:
• Proximity Marketing – 66 per cent prefer to purchase in a physical store within a five-mile radius.
• Tablet adoption continues – Tablet usage is up 84 per cent since Q4 2010.
• Checking-in – Consumers are split evenly between liking, disliking and not interested.
• Mobile Device Trends Adoption – iPad, Android and Windows Mobile 7 gain market share in the U.S and U.K.
Mobile Shopping Behaviour & Proximity Marketing Trends
In the midst of the U.S. holiday shopping season, the study looks at mobile-shopping behaviours between genders and also highlights consumer attitudes toward shopping online versus in store.
Male consumers surpassed female consumers in the shopping department – 73 per cent of males make purchases on their mobile devices compared to 61 per cent of females.
A consumer’s proximity to a store influences purchasing behaviors significantly as well. Sixty-six per cent of consumers prefer shopping for a $50 dollar item at a store they visit regularly if within 5 miles of it; however, when the same consumers are 20 miles outside of the same store, 72 per cent prefer making purchases on their laptop and mobile devices.
Other findings include:
• 18 per cent are using a connected device to actually make purchases even when physically in the store.
• 28 per cent of respondents said they comparison shop on a mobile device when in a store.
• 63 per cent of consumers prefer to shop both in store and online; 22 per cent prefer to shop exclusively in store.
“The retail experience remains critical. While consumers are increasingly using mobile to research and make purchases, we are seeing that the in-store shopping experience is equally if not more important, even with a tech-savvy audience,” said David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire. “This holiday season, brands have a great opportunity to not only leverage digital and mobile, but also execute ‘clicks-to-bricks’ approaches to drive in-store traffic, utilizing location and proximity to deliver the right advertising experience.”
As people continue to become increasingly mobile and strive for constant connectivity, mobile-device habits have shifted from larger devices like laptops to smaller, more portable devices like smartphones and tablets.
Tablet usage has nearly doubled in the past year, growing by 84 per cent since Q4 2010. Since last quarter, tablets and smartphones are showing relative growth in usage while other devices like netbooks and laptops have remained stable or declined. Tablet usage is up 20 per cent, smartphone usage is up 24 percent and by comparison, laptop usage is down 10 percent.
Other key findings include:
• Consumer purchase intent is 50 per cent higher for smartphones and/or tablets compared to laptops over the next six months (25 per cent versus 16 per cent), continuing to accelerate the shift in device ownership.
• Adults 24 years old and under are more likely to purchase a smartphone and/or laptop in the next six months while adults between the ages of 25 and 44 are more likely to purchase a tablet.
Tablet Adoption Continues, Fuelling Mobile Commerce
Since inception, tablets continue to gain popularity with on-the-go consumers, having nearly doubled in growth over the past year.
The study determined that the tablet audience is very comfortable making purchases on their device, purchasing items more frequently than just smartphone owners, and often spending more.
For example, 82 per cent of the tablet audience is willing to make purchases directly on their mobile devices (smartphones or tablets) compared with 76 per cent of smartphone owners.
Other purchase preferences include the following:
• 67 per cent of tablet owners are willing to spend $50 or more, compared to 57 per cent of smartphone owners and 52 per cent of laptop.
• Electronics, retail, entertainment and travel are the most frequently purchased categories, with tablet owners leading all of these categories in terms of purchase frequency.
Location Media: Consumers Remain Split on Value of the Check-In
Despite all the attention and focus on checking in, the jury is still out when it comes to consumer attitudes around this component of location media. In fact, consumers are split three ways; 35 per cent feel positive toward it, 35 per cent either do not like it or understand it, while 30 per cent do not care about checking in. Additionally, the primary drivers of this trend appear to be among males. For example, 39 per cent of males claim that they “like” or “love” checking in while only 30 per cent of women feel that way about checking in. Not surprising, the most popular check-in categories are restaurants, hotels, pubs/bars and health clubs.
Mobile Device Trends and Adoption
In Q3 2011, the iPad, Android and Windows Mobile 7 continue to gain market share not only in the U.S., but in the U.K. as well. Likewise, market share continues to decrease when it comes to the iPhone and iPod Touch – in the U.S. and U.K.
Additionally, the U.S. and U.K. both saw a drop in market share with the iOS, but in both cases, it still holds the No. 1 ranking.
Methodology
JiWire’s Mobile Audience Insights Report is based on data from approximately 315,000 public Wi-Fi locations, as well as surveying more than 2,000 U.S. customers randomly selected across JiWire’s Wi-Fi Media Channel from July 2011 to September 2011. JiWire serves advertisements to over 30,000 public Wi-Fi locations in North America and we record data from every ad request. This report is based on the ad request data we collected from July 2011 to September 2011. Quarterly public Wi-Fi location rankings and business model distributions are based on the final day of the quarter.
Source: www.JiWire.com