Roger Saunders

Retail TouchPoints: Forrester Research Highlights Impact of Location-Based Marketing

February 7, 2012

FROM RETAILWIRE:
A recent Forrester Research survey indicated that 114 million U.S. smartphone users employ check-in services. Forrester predicts that number will grow to 159 million by 2015. What type of offers, incentives or rewards do expect will drive mobile check-ins for retailers in years ahead?      [more...]

The December, 2011 BIGinsight "Media Behavior & Influence Study" (MBI) of 24,578 Adults, 18+ points to the fact that nearly half of all Adults have a SmartPhone -- Android (21.6%), Blackberry (9.6%), iPhone (19.3%), Windows (2.6%). Forrester's view that the number of U.S. smartphones exceeds 100 million+ is on target.

Essential issues that retailers should monitor among these owners is how and how often consumers are making use of the device. We may have a television set, but if we are not making use of it frequently or for selected programming purposes, we may not be of interest to marketers, or they might consider shifting their media allocation.

How consumers use the device -- messaging, gaming, e-commerce, search -- is key to understand. The MBI Study reflects that the leading app uses of the devices at this juncture are: Gaming (Angry Birds, Word with Friends) (64.1%), Entertainment (54.4%), Weather (56.6%), Social Networking (53.1%). In addition, the frequency of use for search is a key one to zero in on -- "Regularly, Occasionally, Never" -- is important for those who are seeking to monetize eyeballs. The "Regularly" users is still a modest 3% to 14% depending upon the smartphone provider.

Best to use segmentation plans of consumers to build out traffic driving opportunities. Mobile check-ins will grow over time, but they are not for all smartphone users yet. Look closely at the numbers first -- consumers and your customer base -- before shifting large amounts of media attention. The data is there for forward-thinking retailers.