Key takeaways
- Mobile shopping rose sharply over recent holiday periods. Black Friday mobile traffic hit ~40% and Cyber Monday nearly a third, versus 4% three years earlier.
- Surveys conflict on marketer adoption: one found 25% fewer CMOs plan mobile marketing for the holidays, while others forecast/mobile-shopping growth.
- Message relevance is the main barrier: many subscribers find mobile messages irrelevant; 64% bought after a relevant mobile message.
- Consumers most want pricing (66%), time‑sensitive sales (52%) and location‑based offers (50%) via mobile.
- Local search and click‑to‑call on mobile are growing, making an opportunity for small, local businesses.
Introduction
If you’re sitting at the train station, do you let the express train go by to wait to see if the local gets there first?That seems to be the approximation of marketers’ attitudes about mobile marketing.
In an article at Forbes.com, a BDO Survey revealed that 25% fewer CMOs will be using mobile marketing during the holiday season this year.
The Other Side of the Tablet
Yet, there are numerous other surveys that dispute this strategy – or lack thereof.
In the same Forbes article, Emarketer estimated there would be a 15% increase in mobile shopping during this holiday season.
The Forbes story also mentioned a USA Today article about the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark survey that showed the official beginning of the shopping period, Thanksgiving weekend, set records for mobile shopping and traffic, accounting for 40% of online traffic on Black Friday, and nearly a third on Cyber Monday. Just three years ago, the figure was 4% on Cyber Monday.
Reassessment of the Mobile Marketing Message
Despite these surveys, others show that while consumers are more favorable to mobile marketing, it is the message that’s the problem. The same Forbes article above noted Responsys’ survey results showing that while 28% of consumers subscribe to mobile marketing, 35% say what they receive is not relevantApproximately 64% of subscribers have purchased a product if the mobile message was relevant. The three areas people were most interested receiving information about were pricing (66%), time-sensitive sales (52%) and location based (50%).
Across the pond, there is similar research. Mobile solutions specialist Oxygen8 Group’s survey in the United Kingdom showed that 42% of consumers feel the mobile marketing they receive is not relevant or useful.
It would seem that rather than “discounting” mobile marketing, tweaking the messages or deals could spike sales. People may save coupons, but tend to forget them when it’s time to shop. The knowledge that they are always carrying the coupons with them on a mobile device could help them remember and use the offers.
The Impact of Online Search
A study by Frost & Sullivan in Australia revealed that online searching is surpassing other online advertising, including sponsorships, integrated site content, e-newsletters; online classifieds and online directories. It is expected to rise from 83% this year to 91% in 2018. Click to call from a mobile device is becoming more popular. This trend is due to the increased use of mobile devices and many of these searches are local. With a recent emphasis on buying local and the surveys indicating consumers being receptive to localized mobile marketing, small businesses, which are usually the local ones, should take advantage of the opportunity.
Combining Brick and Mortar with Mobile
A good marketing plan integrates different platforms. The recommendation of another survey suggests a different way of adapting to the mobile method.BIA/Kelsey studied the development of shopping, commerce and payments in the mobile age. A shocking result was that combined, e-commerce and m-commerce accounted for only 7% of American retail spending! People still like going to a store and looking at a product or trying on clothes. Their suggestion is incorporating into the brick and mortar store “mobile-assisted offline shopping.” For example, a Vietnamese food truck in Arlington, VA uses a mobile card reader in combination with an iPad to accept credit card payments, which account for 65%-70% of its sales.
With the increase of mobile shopping, advertising and usage in general, the time is now to start focusing on making sure all of your marketing efforts are mobile friendly, and geared towards this demographic moving forward.
FAQ
Emarketer estimated a 15% increase in mobile shopping for the holiday season, while IBM’s Digital Analytics Benchmark showed Thanksgiving weekend set records. Mobile accounted for about 40% of online traffic on Black Friday and nearly a third on Cyber Monday (up from 4% on Cyber Monday three years earlier). At the same time, a BDO survey reported 25% fewer CMOs planned to use mobile marketing during the holiday season.
Message relevance strongly influences outcomes: Responsys’ survey found 28% of consumers subscribe to mobile marketing but 35% say what they receive is not relevant. Around 64% of subscribers have purchased after receiving a relevant mobile message, indicating relevance drives conversions.
Consumers indicated highest interest in pricing information (66%), time‑sensitive sales (52%) and location‑based offers (50%).
There is growing online search and local searches on mobile, with click‑to‑call becoming more popular. Small, local businesses should leverage localized mobile marketing and search to reach nearby customers.
Integrate platforms and adopt mobile‑assisted offline shopping. E‑commerce and m‑commerce together made up only 7% of American retail spending, so retailers should use mobile tools to support in‑store experiences (for example, mobile card readers and tablets to accept payments).
There are relevance issues across markets: 42% of consumers feel the mobile marketing they receive is not relevant or useful.
Tweak mobile messages and deals for relevance (since relevant messages increase purchases), make coupons available on mobile so consumers carry them and ensure all marketing efforts are mobile‑friendly and geared to mobile users going forward.
Yes, an example is a Vietnamese food truck using a mobile card reader with an iPad; credit card payments via this setup accounted for about 65%–70% of its sales, illustrating mobile payments can represent a large share of transactions for small vendors.
