3rd Annual U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study Reveals How Important Mobile has become to Consumers’ Purchase Decisions

The 3rdAnnual U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study—which was released today by xAd (a global leader in location-based mobile advertising) and Telmetrics (a leading call measurement technology provider)—reveals just how important mobile devices have become to the consumer purchase decision process. “With [the] increase in mobile adoption, we see people turning to mobile as a necessary part of their everyday lives and purchase decisions. In fact, share of online time spent on mobile now eclipses that of desktop,” the study notes.

xAd and Telmetrics collaborated with Nielsen on the study to track consumers from initial purchase intent to conversion. Data was derived from an online survey encompassing over 2,000 tablet and smartphone users in the United States. Data was also derived from actual observed behaviors from Nielsen’s Smartphone Analytics Panel of 6,000 iOS and Android users. Each group reported that they had made a purchase decision in at least one of the four key industries—Telecom, Restaurant, Auto, and Entertainment—in the past 30 days.

“As mobile adoption increases, we see consumers turning to mobile as a necessary part of their purchase decisions,” stated Monica Ho, SVP of marketing for xAd. “The impact of this increased mobile usage is significant and it isn’t limited to on-device activity. With mobile consumers looking to make decisions quickly and locally, mobile is also serving as a tool to drive in-store activity.”

As Figure 1 indicates, the number of online smartphone visits is nearly double that of online desktop visits (10.6 billion smartphone visits versus 5.8 billion desktop visits).

Figure 1

Moreover, while more than one-third of mobile shoppers rely exclusively on mobile, offline activities still play a big role in the consumer purchase process—with 52% reporting visiting physical stores and 64% completing their purchases offline. Figure 2 provides a breakdown of average page visit length and average percent of time spent online by device:

Figure 2

Mobile devices can account for as much as 64% of time spent online, depending on the category. The percentage of time spent online overwhelmingly favored mobile devices for two categories—Telecom (60%) and Restaurant (50%). The percentage of time spent online was less favorable toward mobile devices for two categories—Auto (20%) and Entertainment (44%).

When data is analyzed as a whole, it is clear that mobile users convert in high numbers, with two out of three mobile users ultimately making a purchase, and an additional 16% planning a purchase in the near future. The purchase rate is particularly high (80%) for those looking to make Restaurant transactions.

As consumers become more comfortable with their mobile devices, their overall satisfaction has increased. In 2013, only 59% of smartphone users stated that they were satisfied with the information found on their devices. In 2014, that number saw a slight increase, with 61% of smartphone users stating that they were satisfied with the information found on their devices.

This year, 47% of consumers use their mobile devices to shop and explore at home—even when there is a computer nearby. On the other hand, as Figure 3 demonstrates most mobile shoppers expect locations to be within 5 miles of their location:

Figure 3

While a lot of mobile activity takes place when consumers are just beginning to evaluate their options, these consumers are often inclined to act quickly and locally. Hence, mobile can be used not only to reinforce brand awareness and influence consumers’ purchase decisions, but also to drive immediate actions. While the majority of overall commerce is still taking place in physical stores, mobile marketing can encourage consumers to visit physical stores, and mobile devices can be used as a tool to drive in-store purchases.

How successfully have you integrated mobile into your online marketing campaigns? Share your insight in our Comments section below.

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