Category: Mobile Commerce

PayPal survey shows that retailers are beginning to focus more heavily on young consumers

Retailers are likely to focus more on young consumers in the coming years as mobile commerce becomes more prevalent. A recent survey from PayPal found that some 59% of smartphone shoppers are between the ages of 18 and 34. These consumers are also more likely to conduct their mobile shopping through an application rather than a mobile website. Apps are seen as more convenient by many consumers and they offer a better shopping experience.

Consumers have strong interested in NFC technology

The survey from PayPal found that 47% of consumers prefer to shop through apps rather than mobile browsers. Notably, those preferring to shop with their smartphones noted that the feature they are most interested in seeing in the future is the ability to tap a phone to a payment terminal to make a purchase. This may be good news for companies that are investing in NFC technology, which is used in the mobile commerce space to transmit digital information over short distances.

China is leading the way when it comes to mobile shopping

PayPal’s survey found that China is home to the largest mobile shopping population. Approximately 68% of Chinese consumers shop online, either from a mobile device or a computer. The United Arab Emirates and Turkey follow behind China, with healthy online shopping activity. The most commonly purchased product purchased by China’s mobile shoppers were leisure products. In the United States, consumers used their mobile devices to purchase food and drink more than any other product category.

Retailers are beginning to focus more on apps rather than mobile websites

While consumers reported that mobile-friendly websites would encourage them to shop more frequently, they still prefer applications. Apps are often seen as more secure and capable of meeting the needs of consumers. Retailers have been working to improve their mobile websites, but a growing number of these companies have begun relying on apps in order to effectively engage consumers. Some retailers are also beginning to develop their own mobile commerce apps, hoping to secure a new generation of mobile shoppers.

This insight was provided in a blog post by the tech giant, which was clearly a shot at Facebook’s advertising strategies.

When it comes to mobile marketing, the biggest players have made serious efforts to try to grasp at the top spot and keep it and Google has now released a blog post that reveals some of its latest efforts to create the most appeal for its offerings.

Facebook has a natural advantage when it comes to mobile advertising to specific targeted demographics.

That said, Google has been underscoring its own consumer intent data when it comes to searches in order to provide companies with what it calls better data for mobile marketing to targeted consumers. It has stated that this is particularly helpful in the mobile advertising sphere, though it is beneficial to all online marketing. It supported its perspective by saying that demographic data develops a form of pre-conceived form of targeting for advertising campaigns.

Google gave examples of how that style could end up skewing mobile marketing results.

For instance, it said that among sporting goods searchers over the last half year, 56 percent are female. Equally, 45 percent of home improvement searchers are also female. On the other hand, 68 percent of influencers in the skin and body care sector are male.

The blog post stated that “Intent beats identity. Immediacy trumps loyalty. When someone has a want or need, they turn to their smartphone for help,” adding that “When a need arises, people turn to search and YouTube to look for answers, discover new things, and make decisions. We call these intent-filled moments, micro-moments.”

For this reason, the blog post explained that mobile marketing firms have the best opportunity to reach people if they’re there during that specific moment that an individual is actually seeking to learn about a subject. Understanding the intent of consumers and providing content that meets those needs, said Google, was at the heart of being able to convince them to take action such as subscribing or making a purchase. Therefore, Google said that while designing targeted campaigns, regardless of the channel, intent should play the primary role over demographics and first-party data.