Nearly 50% of smartphone owners use their mobile to search for product information after seeing a TV ad, according to a new study from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).
The survey also found that 38% of respondents used their smartphone instore while shopping, with 49% of this group using their mobile to compare prices with other retailers.
Research agency GfK interviewed over 800 smartphone owners to track the purchase journey of their most recently purchased product.
When researching the product 78% of respondents used a PC, while 54% used a mobile.
Moving onto the transaction stage, 80% opted to make the purchase on a PC while 34% used a mobile.
The proportion of shoppers making a purchase a mobile device is high, and previous research has shown that tablets are leading the way in terms of conversion rate at 3.8% compared to 1.9% on desktop.
The IAB’s study also shows that tablets are proving to be a strong revenue stream for retailers, with respondents who own a tablet spending 4.4 hours per week browsing retail sites and also making a purchase every week.
Our recent Conversion Rate Optimization Report found that just 16% of companies are conducting any kind of usability testing on tablets, but these stats show that retailers (and fashion brands especially) need to take notice of the iPad.
GfK research director Ryan Garner said that the more connected devices consumers own, the more their behaviours change and the more complex purchasing habits become.
Those brands and retailers that can best accommodate this changing dynamic will be best placed to generate new sales and capitalise on consumers’ desire to use their smartphone for research and purchase more in the future.”
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Head of Account Management at RedEye International
10:36AM on 1st February 2012
Some very interesting stats in there David.
We are seeing huge improvements for clients when optimising for the mobile channel in site design and when used in communications.
See the RedEye white paper on this subject via the link below;
http://www.redeye.com/resources/an-introduction-to-mobile-marketing/
Marketing Analyst at Draeger
12:20PM on 1st February 2012
I find this headline incredibly difficult to believe.
I can't access the full report but the IAB website on this study actually states:
"Half of those following up adverts on smartphones, are sent there by TV"
This is something different, right?
I wonder whether this is another example of a PR company not understanding research or simply knowing what people are more likely to read. Either way, I read it more carefully than I normally would so job done.
Editor at Econsultancy
1:50PM on 1st February 2012
Hi Kris
You're right to be sceptical when it comes to PRs and stats. I think the stat means that 44% of those that respond to TV ads use their mobiles to do so, rather than heading into a store, calling up etc.
Editor at Econsultancy
5:28PM on 1st February 2012
This reinforces many of the tips in this article from last year, especially optimising landing pages for mobile : http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7731-how-can-marketers-use-offline-ads-to-drive-people-online
Head of community at TMW
4:54PM on 2nd February 2012
Ok, so we've updated the header to better reflect the IAB's findings...