Mobile Users Speak: Mobile Aptitude on the Rise

It looks as though mobile devices are here to stay; purchase intentions have been on the rise since 2011, even as the cost of living increases. The latest iPhone installment and newest Droid tablet appear to be on the “Do Not Cut Back” list for most consumers:

More and more consumers are acquiring the means to be mobile.

Naturally, those who have smartphones and tablets are using them for a variety of purposes. Some may even be considering replacing their laptop! Although a desktop or laptop computer is the preferred method for Internet access, this portion has been declining since April 2012. Earlier this year, 2 in 3 (67.1%) preferred using a computer to access the Internet, compared to just over half (56.7%) as of August. Mobile Users who prefer using a smartphone for web surfing have increased in numbers from April (22.3% to 29.0%) along with those who opt for tablet devices (10.7% to 14.3%).

Further, those mobile users with smartphones are going beyond the basics of their gadgets—they not only have means, but also the motivation to use their devices to the fullest. As of September, only 11.7% say they use their smartphone just for call/text/email. The rest of users are split: 46.0% use the basic features plus some applications while 42.2% say their smartphone is their life! These avid users remain in the majority while the proportion of phone fundamentalists is trending downward:

Would you like to discover your own mobile insights? All of these and more can be found at the Prosper Mobile InsightCenter™. Check it out soon! For the entire month of October, Prosper Mobile Insights is offering an All Access Pass to behind-the-scenes segments including wireless providers, retailer shoppers and extended demographic segments.

Source: Prosper Mobile Insights™

© 2012, Prosper®

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Mobile Users Speak: Digital Cross-Shopping In Physical Stores

Researching products on a smartphone or tablet is quite popular among Mobile Users – 39.6% say they regularly conduct mobile research while 48.5% occasionally do so. Two in three (66.5%) also regularly or occasionally purchase products using their mobile devices. It’s no big surprise that mobile cross-shopping (searching the web on a mobile device to compare offerings and prices while browsing a physical store) is a growing trend among shoppers equipped with smartphones and tablets.

More than half (59.1%) say they have compared prices on a mobile device while shopping in a physical store. 1 in 3 still purchased from the same physical store (34.5%) but just as many chose to purchase from a different retailer (33.8%). The next most popular mobile cross-shopping activities include purchasing from another retailer’s website, either using a smartphone or tablet (25.9%) or logging on using a laptop after leaving the store (22.3%). Those Mobile Users who shopped Best Buy or Amazon.com in the past 90 days are more likely to engage in these activities:

*For this analysis, Shoppers are defined as those who said they shopped at a particular retailer in the past 90 days.

It’s interesting to see the vast majority of those who’ve recently visited Best Buy have cross-shopped without leaving a store, further promoting Best Buy’s growing reputation as Amazon.com’s showroom. These savvy mobile users are looking for the best buy, whether it’s at their current shopping location, next door or online.

Further, mobile devices are great shopping companions. 39.0% say they’ve used a smartphone or tablet to check out product reviews, 35.7% have scanned a QR code for more info, 23.8% have “checked in” for a discount and 17.7% requested a price match—all while shopping in a physical store! Amazon and Best Buy customers are even more prone to these thrifty digital habits:

Over a third (36.8%) of Best Buy shoppers say they’ve requested a price match via mobile while shopping…perhaps they’ve informed a Geek of a better buy found through the Price Check app from Amazon? Best Buy could be in trouble if Amazon’s customers continue to find the site so favorable.

Source: Prosper Mobile Insights™, Mobile Survey (AUG-12), N=328

© 2012, Prosper®

Mobile Users Speak: Unlimited Data vs. Giga-budgeting

Does your data run low? Do you guard it on the go? Do you track it with an app or budget like a pro?

Conveniently fitting my rhyme, nearly half of Mobile Users would simply say “No!”

47.2% admit they do not actively track their data usage (50% of Verizon customers and 43.7% of AT&T customers say the same). For those Mobile Users who do watch how much data they use to post social updates, check their email, listen to music and “draw something” for friends, the top activity to manage data is an upgrade! Other consumers with tighter wallets turn off data throughout the day, budget data usage and cut out certain activities that use up too many gigs:

1 in 10 Verizon customers also download an app to watch how close they come to their data limit. 8.7% of AT&T customers say they have switched providers to increase their available data.

It’s clear Mobile Users don’t want wireless companies to do away with unlimited data plans: 80.4% would rather pay a flat rate for data each month, regardless of how much they use while 19.6% prefer to pay per GB used. (I fall into that 1 in 5…paying for 4 GB of data each month and using about 0.5 GB is a little disheartening.)

At the moment, the majority of Mobile Users (66.9%) say they have unlimited data plans. More Mobile Users on Team Verizon (72.4%) have these unrestricted plans while 52.4% of AT&T customers say the same.

Concern over data usage certainly isn’t stopping mobile users from browsing the web on their smartphones or tablets. Most prefer to use their device to access Google and Facebook while others say they ONLY use their device to access email or conduct a browser search—no need for a laptop or desktop for these mobile-savvy consumers!

Source: Prosper Mobile Insights™ Mobile Survey, July 2012, N = 326

© 2012, Prosper®

Mobile Exclusivity & What This Means for Marketers

Can you recall the last time we were on the precipice of revolutionary technological change? Something that would alter the way we do things – permanently (or at least until the next BIG thing comes along)? I can remember a time before personal computers, DVRs (but not VCRs), remote controls that weren’t “remote” (and still attached to TVs), Walkmans® (not MP3 players)…and Google.

I remember the first time I heard the word “Google” like it was yesterday:  Sophomore year…College…Financial Accounting class…1999. Our prof was detailing a research project involving GAAP accounting rules [snooze] and mentioned that we should try a new search engine – Google. It was clean, easy to use, and took you directly where you wanted to go. (We were all still tied to Yahoo at the time, remember? Or that one with the Lab – Lycos, right?) “You should buy stock in this company,” he said. “These guys have something here.”

In the immortal words of Ralphie Parker: “FUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE.” Had I taken that stock tip, I’d be on an island somewhere – and not discussing mobile exclusivity with you fine folks.

And that brings us back on topic: Mobile Exclusivity. With an increasing number of consumers gravitating toward smartphone and/or tablet ownership, it should come as no surprise that these devices are becoming the preferred – and sometimes the only – source for tasks that were previously undertaken on a good old laptop or desktop. Nonetheless, the number of mobile owners doing so is still staggering.

According to our latest Prosper Mobile Insights survey of 331 mobile owners, half (51.1%) say they only access their email via device. Nearly as many (45.3%) conduct Internet searches exclusively on their smartphones or tablets, while two in five (42.3%) say they are mobile-only when it comes to updating their Facebook pages. Mobile owners are slightly less committed to exclusive mobile access for online banking (29.6%) or online shopping (25.4%) – for now. All told, seven out of ten mobile owners conduct at least one web-based activity using only their devices.

So what does this mean for retailers, marketers, and advertisers? Should they all jump onto the mobile bandwagon? Here are a few questions to ask when attempting to reach mobile owners:

1.       Are your customers even mobile?

If you’ve kept up with BIG, you may have heard us mention our Mobile Aptitude Score, a unique index which considers mobile ownership, usage, influence on purchases, and frequency of mobile Internet access. By assessing the scores for various shoppers, we found that some retailers are more likely to have “more mobile” customers (i.e. Nordstrom, Macy’s, Apple) compared to others (like JC Penney, L.L. Bean, even Radio Shack). While mobile adoption may grow among “underperforming” retailers, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth dipping into the mobile pool if it’s not going to make a splash with your core shoppers.

2.       How long can this last?

I teed up this question specifically for marketers and advertisers – as I think we all can agree that mobile is the way to go technology-wise, at least until skin implants harness our telekinetic brain waves or ESP or something [and I’m not even sure that makes sense]. More specifically, how long will it be before mobile users feel inundated by ads (banners, pop-ups, sponsored, videos, or otherwise), turning them off from buying your products or using your services?

In this same survey, we found that two out of five (42.9%) mobile owners are more likely to pay attention to a video versus a standard ad on their mobile device – that’s a seemingly big audience. Among these respondents, half (51.3%) reported that videos were more attention grabbing, 34.5% admitted they were more enjoyable, while a quarter (25.2%) felt that they are more relevant. It’s important to note, though, that 30.4% simply stated that they are unable to click away from videos until at least part of the advertisement had played. Not unlike watching a commercial on TV, right? That is, until VCRs gave us the ability to “buzz” the ads, which evolved into skipping commercials in real time, courtesy of DVRs. So, it may just be a matter of time before the next Gates/Zuckerberg/Google wannabe invents an app that wipes out ad content on your mobile device.

Perhaps the key to mobile advertising is thinking outside the box. Will we be slicing through Dole® bananas on Fruit Ninja in the near future? If James Bond can drain a Heineken, I guess anything’s possible.

3.       Is this worth it?

You can spend all you want on mobile adaptation and/or advertising, but if browsers aren’t converting to buyers, is this worth your company’s expenditures? Again, examining your customers’ Mobile Aptitude may help answer this question. Additionally per our study, mobile owners currently remain a little cool on their comfort level with buying and banking via devices, but recall the growth of online shopping – security and shipping concerns have been displaced by instant gratification, coupon codes, and a reputable crop of web-based retailers. So, is it just a matter of time before mobile buying becomes the next BIG thing?

To access complimentary data from our latest Prosper Mobile Insights release, click here.

And, to read our original release on the topic: 7 in 10 Mobile Users Conduct at Least One Web-Based Activity Using Only Mobile, According to Latest Mobile Survey

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

Source: Prosper Mobile Insights™ Mobile Survey (Jun-12). Conducted 6/19 – 6/22/12 among 331 smartphone and tablet users on their devices. Margin of error: 5.4 percentage points.

© 2012, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ and Prosper Mobile Insights™ are trademarks of Prosper Business Development Corp.