Showrooming Secrets

Most customers say they need at least a 20% price difference to abandon the store

Two-thirds of mobile device owners say they check their device while shopping in a store to see if there is a cheaper price elsewhere, according to survey results from Linkable Networks. But what is the minimum price difference that would drive mobile owners to leave a store and purchase online instead?

 The study results suggest that only 5% would leave if the online retailer offered the item for at least 5% less, while a plurality 23% would leave for a discount of at least 20%.

 Not all mobile owners would leave the store they were shopping in because they found a better deal online via their mobile device, though. Among the two-thirds of respondents who check prices while in-store, only 1 in 5 report having left the store many times because they found a better deal, while an additional 26% said they would maybe do so if it were an expensive item, and another 41% if the price differential were high. 14% simply responded that they wouldn’t leave the store.                                      

The study results paint a picture of a more committed store buyer than previous research. Late last year, a study by GroupM found that 45% of customers would leave a store and buy a product online if they found it at a 2.5% discount while comparison shopping using their mobile device. At a discount of 5%, 60% of customers said they would leave, while at a 20% discount, 87% of shoppers would be moved to abandon the store.

About the Data: The data is gleaned from an online survey of 803 Americans conducted on behalf of Linkable Networks from January 7 – 12, 2013. To qualify, all respondents had to identify being 18 years of age or older. Weights were applied to ensure the sample was demographically balanced to reflect the US adult population.

We live in a new DNAge. Think MOBILEFirst.          

Half Of Mobile Phone Owners Always Have Their Device Within Arm’s Length

Smartphone penetration is exploding. 

Research showing consumer addiction to mobile phones continues to filter in. Here’s another stat to add to the arsenal: according to a new study from Arbitron and Edison Research, 52% of mobile phone owners always keep their device within arm’s reach, and another 30% do so most of the time. And more Americans aged 12 and up use a cell phone (30%) than a dedicated alarm clock (22%) or clock radio (15%) to wake up in the morning.

That rises to 59% among Americans aged 18-34.

The study reveals that smartphone penetration continues to steadily rise, up from 44% of Americans aged 12 and up last year to 53% this year. (Recent comScore estimates indicate that 55% of mobile phone subscribers owned a smartphone  during the 3-month average ending in January 2013, up from 42.7% the previous year.)

Over the past year, smartphone penetration has grown most quickly among older groups, according to the Edison Research and Arbitron study, with these demos tending to have the most “catching up” to do. But, penetration is up across all age groups, including:

. 11% growth among 12-17-year-olds (60% vs. 54%);

. 14% growth among 18-24-year-olds (75% vs. 66%);

. 16% growth among 25-34-year-olds (74% vs. 64%);

. 28% growth among 35-44-year-olds (69% vs. 54%);

. 24% growth among 44-54-year-olds (51% vs. 41%);

. 26% growth among 55-64-year-olds (34% vs. 27%); and

. 55% growth among the 65+ group (17% vs. 11%).

The most popular activities on smartphones, per the report, are making or receiving calls (97%), sending or receiving text messages (94%), taking pictures (90%), browsing the internet (83%) and using social networking sites (63%), with QR code scanning (21%) on the other end of the spectrum of identified activities.

Sorting by daily usage, the top 2 activities remain the same, but browsing the internet (61%) and using social networking sites (46%) leapfrog taking pictures (39%).

About the Data: In January/February 2013, Arbitron and Edison Research conducted a national telephone survey offered in both English and Spanish language (landline and cell phone) of 2,021 people aged 12 and older. Data were weighted to national 12+ population figures.

We live in a new DNAge. Think MOBILEFirst.          

Despite Increase Of Other Social Platforms, Facebook Still The Most Used

More Business Owners Say they Find LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube Effective But Could Be Doing More

Small business owners are increasingly finding social media platforms other than Facebook to be effective marketing vehicles for their organizations, per results from a new Constant Contact survey. Among the 8 in 10 respondents surveyed in December 2012 using social media for marketing (a notably higher proportion than other surveys such as this one have found), 29% found LinkedIn to be effective, up from 10% in the May 2012 survey, while one-quarter saw Twitter as effective, up from 7% in the earlier survey.

Not to be outdone, YouTube (15% vs. 3%), Pinterest (9% vs 1%), Yelp (6% vs 2%) and Google+ (5% vs 1%) are also gaining more interest from small business owners as effective social media marketing platforms. Still, none of those hold a candle to Facebook, which 82% find effective, up from 75% in the May 2012 survey.

The results appear to be in direct contrast to earlier survey findings from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Vistage International, in which LinkedIn emerged as not only the most commonly used social media tool by small businesses, but also the most positively perceived.

Both studies found evidence that small businesses could be doing more with their social media marketing. The WSJ survey turned up fairly low rates of regular usage of social media, and the Constant Contact study finds that just one-quarter of respondents post to Facebook daily, with that figure falling to 13% on Twitter and less than 5% for the other platforms identified. The numbers are not much better when expanding to weekly postings: 32% report posting with that regularity on Facebook, 18% on Twitter, and no more than 10% on any other platform. While many small business owners are using these platforms, they’re not terribly active on them.

A little help might spur them on, though. Asked which marketing activities they need help with, a majority cited social media marketing, the most of any activity identified. Next up, email marketing, following by websites, online advertising, and online listings.

About the Data: This Constant Contact-sponsored survey was administered in December 2012 to 1,100 participants in the Constant Contact Small Biz Council, a research panel of US small businesses and nonprofits recruited from the Constant Contact customer base. This is the third installment of an ongoing study about the state of small businesses and the ways they connect with and grow their audiences. Results include responses from respondents across a range of business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries.

We live in a new DNAge. Think MOBILEFirst. 

“Buying American” Generally Matters More To Women

A majority of American adults believe that it is important to “buy American” across a variety of product types, according to results from a Harris Interactive survey, even if the definition of what constitutes an “American” product is not universally shared by respondents. Interestingly, while there were few gaps in the importance placed on “buying American” among Republicans and Democrats responding to the survey, women were more likely than men to feel it more important for each product category identified. Women are the key.

For example, women were:

10% more likely to consider it important for furniture purchases (78% vs. 71%);

11% more likely to consider “buying American” important when purchasing major appliances (79% vs. 71%);

15% more likely to place importance on this factor when buying clothing (77% vs. 67%);

14% more likely to find it important for car purchases (74% vs. 65%); and

20% more likely to consider it important when buying home electronics (72% vs. 60%).

On each count, 18-35-year-olds were significantly less likely than any other generation to believe that “buying American” is important to them.

The survey finds that the definition of what constitutes “buying American” isn’t universally agreed upon. Three-quarters agree that a product needs to be manufactured within the US for them to consider it “American,” while a slight majority believe that it needs to be made by an American company for them to consider it “American.” Close behind, 47% agree that a product needs to be made from parts produced in the US for them to consider it “American.”

As the researchers note, the company perceived by respondents to be the most “American” – Ford – increasingly has cars that include parts produced abroad. Other companies showing up in the most “American” list – such as GE and Levi Strauss – also outsource some of their operations overseas.

Regardless of the extent to which these companies’ products meet consumer definitions, “Made in America” packaging can influence consumers. A study released last year by Perception Research Services found that about 8 in 10 shoppers notice “Made in the USA” claims in packaging, and about three-quarters of those believe that such claims make them more likely to buy the product.

According to the Harris survey results, the most commonly-cited important reasons for “buying American” are to keep jobs in America (90%), to support American companies (87%), and due to quality (83%) and safety (82%) concerns with products assembled outside of the US.

About the Data: The Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between December 12 and 18, 2012 among 2,176 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

Data for the “What company do you consider to be most ‘American’” question was conducted online within the United States between January 2 and 4, 2012 among 2,126 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

We live in a new DNAge. Think MOBILEFirst.           

When To Text Or Not To Text…That Is The Question

Understanding when and how to use texting could mean the difference in your business.

It’s a mobile world. Understanding how to use mobile is mandatory in business today. Tracy Kunzi in an article that appeared in Mobile Commerce Daily posed an interesting question: when is the best time to send a text message? She wrote that text message marketing is about nuance. It has to be. Mobile phones evoke significant emotions within their owners. If you use text messaging, the successes are based on growing the number of opt-in mobile database members and their engagement. If you upset a user, she or he has the power and right to unsubscribe easily.

Along with other best practice in text message marketing, one of the fastest ways to upset mobile database subscribers is to send them messages at the wrong time. Wake them up at 2A, to share a fast food coupon? Unsubscribe. Text me at 4A with a payment reminder? Unsubscribe.

Mobile is the one channel people can be reached with throughout their day. Text messaging is most effective during business hours (10A-8P), while lifestyle-oriented activities such as apps and Web browsing dominate evening hours.

So, when is the best time? First you need to consider the times of day that your mobile audience is on their phone the most and what time periods are most appropriate and relevant for within their daily routine. If you have more flexibility in your message’s timing, consider the following:

-       No one like Mondays: Unless your message is related to that specific date (or a reminder), Mondays have shown the lowest response most likely due to the overwhelming content that people receive after weekend via email, television and mail.

-       Avoid rush hour: Since it is text messaging, people cannot read or engage with a text message during common ruch hours, typically 6:30A-8:30A and 4P-7P local time.

-       Be respectful: Not too early in the morning and not too late at night. Think about when users would want to accept a phone call. A text message has a similar alert method and people typically don’t want to be bothered at those times.

-       Go local: Always keep local time zones in mind. Send messaging out at the times most impactful to those in each local market. Especially for television shows, retail sales and time-sensitive offers.

-       Breaking news trumps all: The bigger the news, the more lenient you can be with messaging outside of “mobile business hours”.

-       Apointment reminders: Reminders should be sent at least 24 hours before the appointment and contain all necessary information.

-       Ongoing reminder messages: Daily/monthly reminders on any subject are popular in this increasingly busy world. Send at the time that best fits your goals: horoscopes in the morning and high school football score alerts on Friday evening.

-       Drive midday foot traffic: Trying to drive people into your store during lunch hours? Send out your blast at 11:30A local time to catch those who are making lunch plans and even add an offer to incentivize the visit instead of treating it as a plain advertisement.

-       Drive in-store weekend foot traffic: Thur4sdays are popular dates to send text messages with strong response rates and Fridays between 2P-5P have shown great success for retailers such as Charlotte Russe.

-       Support upcoming events: Send out a couple reminders spaced out including on the actual date and links to increase RSVPs and attendance. Include specific event information to assist attendees with planning and logistics.

-       Seansonal and holiday messaging: Send holiday messages with valuable content up to a week before an expected action is to be taken to allow them to plan properly, such as an upcoming sales, instore events or even holiday recipes.

-       Bad holiday messaging: Do not send unexpected or irrelevant messages on holidays or during the big game. Always have a clear purpose and relevance to the time and date sending.

-       Send electronic receipts: There has been a big increase in the adoption of electronic receipts to save overall costs for retailers. SMS/MMS text message receipts can be integrated easily and inexpensively. Make sure they are sent immediately after purchase. Drive additional action by including a link to view other specials or products to drive more sales and interest.

-       Send shipping alerts: Use SMS or MMS messages to send shipping and delivery confirmations. This will help build a trusting relationship with your customer.

-       Always be testing: Still not sure what time or offer will drive the best ROI, time test your message in rolling time zones, different geographic areas and improve content as you see fit.

-       How often to message the mobile database: While the type of news you send will directly determine the frequency of messaging, here are a few additional tips for ongoing messaging:

1.   You can message more than once a week if your message is relevant and the frequency must be mentioned to the user when they subscribe.

2.   For typical news or alerts, once per week or even biweekly is a common frequency.

3.   Never wait more than two to three weeks without messaging from the user’s initial opt-in, unless your program is structured for longer time periods between updates. Messaging is about engagement, not about one-off blasts.

4.   People opt-in and then forget with and why, so immediate messaging is key to keeping them engaged and building a loyal fanbase.

5.   Keep in mind, for legal reasons, you must message your database at least once every six months, otherwise you must rebuild your list.

Text messaging, when implemented respectfully can be a highly impactful marketing medium for almost every industry.

We live in a new DNAge. Think MOBILEFirst. 

She Has Changed And Most Don’t Realize It Yet

She is young, independent, married, professional, with children and highly mobile.

A college graduate, highly motivated to provide for her growing family of three children and a husband who is graduating in 15 weeks (“but who’s counting, she stated.”) was talking about how she has everything but one little item. When asked what that was, she responded, “Sleep. Lot’s and lot’s of sleep.” And for good reason, she is the target of most brands today. This sharing head of today’s household is 31 and has 3 children, ages ranging from 11 to 6 months. She is constantly on the go and bringing in the money to support their lifestyle.

Her world, in her words, is relatively like so many of her sisters of today. She lives, works and shops within minutes, and rarely leaves her area of dominance. That area is measured in blocks, not miles. In fact she said she rarely goes outside of ‘my area which is about 12 to 20 blocks of where she lives. She has her favorite food store, her favorite gas station, the fastest way to her children’s school, and the place she begins most mornings, her favorite coffee place. Other than that, nearly all of her shopping is done via mobile.

Sixty-three percent of all shoppers used multiple mobile devices to help them with their holiday purchases this past Christmas season. When asked, “Why?”, they responded by saying it made it easier for them to shop. We are living in the biggest shift in technology since the Internet came along. And for many, this is just the beginning.

This young woman was talking about a conversation she and her husband had the other day. He asked her where the checks were. She was astonished. She said, “He didn’t even know that we no longer use checks to pay bills. And, he didn’t know that checks are not longer really used in today’s world.”

She does all of her household bill paying online, via mobile. If they ask for a check, she doesn’t shop there. She uses affinity credit cards that give her points or miles for travel, restaurants and things. For some utilities, that do not allow payment without credit card without an added fee, she sets up direct payment from her banking account and the utility. “I can get my kids Nike’s with the rewards and points I earn from my cards.” How mobile has changes everyday life.

How do you reach her? How can you reach her within your existing budget and increase your ROI? A new study by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Nielsen supported financially by Microsoft Advertising and Yahoo, argues that shifting ad budgets from TV to online video can enhance campaign reach at lower cost. The study examined 18 real TV schedules across key advertiser verticals, finding that a 15% reallocation of TV-only budgets resulted in a 4.2% increase in reach at an 11% lower CPM. In addition, the study also found that shifting TV ad budgets to online video also made campaign reach more effective, with that duplicated reach generating a lift in general recall (+15%), brand recall (+33%), message recall (+45%), and likeability (+40%).

The most significant point of the study indicated that the sequence of viewing mattered. With ads viewed online first and then on TV, were the most effective.

We live in a new DNAge. Think MOBILEFirst. 

Brand Social Network Sites Are Being Used More For Service Than For Marketing

While there is a lot of talk surrounding how consumers are using social media and how companies are using social media to create sales, the fact is, according to a new “Social Media Benchmark Study” released by JD. Power and Associates, its a mixed bag. In looking at how well different industries are using social media sites for marketing and servicing needs, the findings suggest that not all are adept at doing both. Among the results the study finds that of the 23,200 US consumers surveyed who have interacted with a company via a social media channel, 67% had done so for servicing versus 33% for marketing.

It should be noted that the report defines marketing engagements as including “connecting with consumers to build brand awareness and affinity, in addition to promoting coupons and deals”, while servicing engagements include “answering specific consumers questions or resolving problems.” 

The study finds some significant demo discrepancies in the two forms of engagement. For example, 18-29 year old respondents were less likely than the 30-59 and 50+ groups to have interacted with a company in h marketing context (23%, 39% and 38% respectively). However, the younger demo was more likely to have engaged with brands from a servicing standpoint (43%, 39% and 18% respectively).

The rising use of social media as a customer service channel has been well documented. However, some brands are not necessarily responding very well. For example, according to Socialbakers, in Q4, 2012, brands left 45% of questions posted to their Facebook pages unanswered. On Twitter, the results were worse. Brands responded to only 32% of the questions posted to their profiles. 

The question is: why use social media if you don’t use it as both a service and marketing platform? It is absolutely important to maintain a constant surveillance on brands social media platforms. Why? According to J.D. Powers, 87% said that the social marketing interaction they had with the company “positively impacted” their likelihood to make a purchase from that company. 

It’s time to understand social networking means attention to what is being said. Think of it as a personal conversation. If someone is standing next to you and asking you a question, do you just ignore the question and the person who is talking to you or do you respond in kind? 

Business integrity matters.

1 in 2 Global Customers Open To Trying New Brands

Innovation appears to be the key to consumer attitudes when considering what new product to buy. 

In a new Nielsen report, looking at consumer attitudes to new products, it was found that consumers around the world are generally willing to switch to new brands. That should be encouraging news for those brands that are not #1 in the marketplace. However, respondents who were surveyed online, displayed some caution. 6 in 10 preferred to wait until a new innovation has proven itself before purchasing. The same percentage preferred to buy new products from brands that they are familiar with.

Value played a significant role as 64% of respondents said they would purchase a store brand or value option. An Ipsos study released last May found that two-thirds of consumers in the US believe that store brands are as good as national brands, if not better, in offering innovative products.

What constitutes new products? It can be a brand new product brought into the marketplace for the first time. Or, it can be an old product revised and brought back with new life.

What constitutes new brands? A new brand can be one that no one has heard of. Or it can be an old brand that is rediscovered and brought back. Without continuing to build the brand, a brand can wither and die. It becomes out of date, old fashioned. It no longer holds the key to value in today’s marketplace. It is as out of date as Lux soap. However, a brand that has been dormant can have the possibility of finding new life in today’s social interactivity.

This new report obviously values branding. However, it also opens up opportunities for brands that have been inactive. Part of Nielsen’s “Global New Products Report” indicate that 59% of respondents like to tell others about new products. Word-of-mouth communications play a critical role in new product purchase decisions. 77% of respondents said they were much or somewhat more likely to buy a new product when they learned about it from friends and family, while 2/3rds said the same about their decisions when becoming aware of a new product from a professional expert.

This bodes well for brands who are active in social networking. Online channels are growing in influence, with two-thirds of respondents pointing to active search as an influence in their buying decision.

In the world of home furnishing, few brands are familiar with the public. Thomasville, Serta, Sealy are three of the names which are continuously mentioned in brand awareness polls. The rest battle for name recognition and identification along with top-of-mind awareness.                                                                                                         

Today, it is easier than ever to reach her with your brand’s message. With mobile, we can reach her and she can become interactive with the brand. We live in a new DNAge. Think MOBILEFirst.

(The Nielsen Global Survey of New Product Purchase Sentiment polled more than 29,000 online consumers in 58 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America.) 

Luxury Brand Shoppers Prove To Be Mobile-Friendly

Many believe mobile users are those who are younger, coupon seeking consumers. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, according to a new study from ForeSee, 59% of luxury brand shoppers say they’ve used mobile to interact with a company they are buying from. This makes luxury brand shoppers 40% more likely than shoppers at the top 100 e-retail sites (by sales volume) to have ever used their mobile device to interact with a brand (59% vs 42%). Among those who have used their device, one-quarter of luxury brand shoppers said they made a purchase compared to 16% of top-100 shoppers. Luxury mobile shoppers also were more likely to research products on their devices (56% vs 40%), compare products or prices while in store (24% vs 18%), and use retailer-developed mobile shopping apps (13% vs 10%). 

It seems that luxury shoppers are astute in using their mobile devices for shopping purposes. In fact, those who used their mobile while in-store, 65% of luxury shoppers accessed the store’s website, while 39% visited a competitor’s website and 24% a shopping comparison website. 

The researchers cautioned that customer satisfaction ratings have a strong bearing on brand loyalty and should be taken seriously. Compared to dissatisfied customers, highly satisfied luxury website visitors report being:

. 76% more likely to buy from brand online;

. 71% more likely to purchase from the brand the next time;

. 69% more likely to recommend the brand; 

. 69% more likely to buy the brand offline; 

. 65% more committed to the brand overall; and

. 65% more likely to return to the brand.

A dissatisfied customer is roughly 40% less likely to display any of those characteristics.

It is important to understand luxury shoppers also own mobile devices and use them. Mobile is an appendage of today’s consumer. It is with her constantly. 

We live in a new DNAge. Think MOBILEFirst.

People Are Spending A Lot Of Time Social Networking

Only the young kids are on social networks. That is the claim of many who are not active nor want to believe that people are spending a lot of time social networking. Today, a wide spectrum of people are on the social sites letting the world know what they are doing. In fact, Americans aged 18-64 who use social networks say they spend an average of 3.2 hours per day social networking, according to new research released by Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange. Factoring in survey respondents who don’t use social networks, the survey finds that the average online American spends 2 hours a day social networking from a computer, tablet and/or mobile phone. Unsurprisingly, American social networkers aged 18-34 self-report spending more time than their older counterparts, and women outpace men in consumption, also.

Specifically, among American social network users:

18-34-year-olds report spending 3.8 hours a day;

35-49-year-olds report spending 3 hours per day; and

50-64-year-olds report spending 2.4 hours per day.

In terms of the gender difference, female social networkers spend almost 40% more time daily with social media sites than men (3.6 hours vs. 2.6 hours), a finding consistent with earlier research from MyLife and from Burst Media showing women to be more active than men on social media.

Some other interesting demographic gaps emerge from the Ipsos research. Those include:

. Social networkers with low household income spending more time than those with high household income (3.7 hours vs. 3.1 hours). Note: both are over 3 hours;

. Those with low education levels spending more time than those with high education levels (3.5 vs. 3);

. Business owners spending almost 50% more time than those who don’t own a business (4.4 vs. 3);

. Senior executives and decision-makers spending 40% more time than those not in those positions (4.2 vs. 3); and

. Unemployed social networkers spending 3.5 hours a day on social media, versus 3 hours for the employed.

The study breaks down actual hourly estimates per day, with some striking results. For example, roughly 1 in 5 users aged 18-34 claim to spend 6 hours or more per day social networking.

Emerging market social networkers are avid users. Looking across the 24-country sample included in the Ipsos research, some countries stand out in social network usage. Among social network users, Indonesians and Saudi Arabians spend the most time, at an average of 5.1 hours daily, followed by the Turkish (4.9 hours), Argentinians (4.7 hours), and Russians (4.6 hours). In fact, almost one-third of social network users in Indonesia report spending at least 6 hours a day socializing on social media sites.

On the other end of the spectrum, social network users in France and Japan spend the least amount of time daily, at an average of 2.3 hours.

Meanwhile, among all online survey respondents, rates of social network usage are highest in Mexico (91%), Saudi Arabia (91%), Turkey (90%), Brazil (87%), Indonesia (87%), and Argentina (86%). They are lowest in Hungary (62%), Germany (72%), Poland (74%), Great Britain (74%), and the US (75%).

Overall, 71% of respondents across the 24 countries reported using social networks for an average of 3.6 hours per day.

We live in a new DNAge. With the advance of mobile, social networking is at our fingertips and we are using it.