Tag: business insider

More than half of smartphone owners in the United States currently use this type of app and service.

According to recently released survey data from the Federal Reserve and an analysis conducted by Business Insider, about half of all smartphone owning American adults are now using mobile banking in some form, but at the same time, there is still a long way to go before it can be considered to be truly mainstream.

Among the general population, not just smartphone owners, the uses of these services is considerably lower.

The data showed that in 2013 the percentage of American smartphone owners who were using mobile banking services was about 51 percent. By the same time the next year, it had risen to only 52 percent. While it is growing, and while this does mean that more than half of all of these individuals users are also taking advantage of these services, it shows that the rate of growth is very slow and there is still a great deal of room for this type of usage to improve.

The fastest mobile banking penetration growth is occurring more quickly specifically among smartphone users.

The general population may not be seeing a rapid growth, but when taking a more focused look at the people who actually have the devices, there was a rate of increase of 6 percent, compared to the tiny 1 percent seen by the general population.

When looking at American adults who have bank accounts, regardless of whether or not they were smartphone owners, there was a 5 percent increase in the use of banking services over mobile devices. Across the entire American population, the penetration of banking over mobile devices reached 34 percent in 2014.

It was pointed out that it is very unlikely for feature phone owners to try to use mobile banking services will see much of an increase. The reason is that banks have not been releasing the types of apps that would be usable in feature phones, when the population is rapidly making the transition over to smartphones and the vast majority of device owners have that specific type of cell phone.

BI Intelligence releases new report concerning retail industry and mobile consumers

As consumers become more reliant on their mobile devices, retailers are looking for new ways to engage these people. Mobile commerce is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to engage mobile consumers, largely because of the interest these consumers have for making purchases through their mobile device. A recent report from BI Intelligence, a research group associated with Business Insider, examines the ways retailers are working to engage mobile consumers through commerce and other initiatives.

Retailers looking for new ways to engage consumers

The advent of mobile technology has lead to a shift in the way consumers shop and pay for products. For instance, a practice known as “showrooming” allows consumers to use their smart phones to find products they are interested in while avoiding mark-ups from retailers. Typically, consumers can find better deals throughout online e-commerce platforms than from traditional retail stores, which presents a particularly problem for retailers still working to attract consumers to physical stores.

Mobile commerce growing in US and Europe

According to the BI Intelligence report, 29% of all U.S. mobile consumers already use their mobile device to participate in mobile commerce. This trend is expected to continue and spread to Europe through 2015, creating a promising opportunity for retailers to engage a wide audience. The report also notes that location targeting and mobile marketing efforts are becoming ideal ways for retailers to engage consumers in a way they are becoming increasingly responsive to.

Gamification quickly becoming a powerful tool for retailers

Gamification is a relatively new trend that is emerging in the retail industry, according to the BI Intelligence report. This is the practice of introducing game elements into shopping, marketing, and other fields of retail. Through gamification, retailers can make mundane tasks seem more exciting by providing consumers with rewards for completing these tasks. BI Intelligence suggests that gamification may be an effective way to ensure the loyalty of mobile consumers.