The retail industry is investing significant resources into implementation and optimization of mobile marketing campaigns and for good reason. Juniper Research projects that global mobile-coupon redemption rates will exceed 8% by 2016, driven largely by growth of usage in North America and Western Europe, mirroring earlier trends already well established in China and the Far East. 600-million frequent users of mobile coupons are expected to redeem more than $43 billion of coupons by that same year. By comparison, Experian Marketing Services reports that redemption rates for traditional newspaper coupons was just 1.2 percent as of 2008.
Given other recent smartphone related trends, this is not surprising. For example, Google reports that at least 29% of U.S. mobile shoppers report monthly purchases via their smartphones, 14 % claim weekly purchases and 20 % boast of daily purchases. That’s 63 % of smartphone users who are already comfortable enough with mobile marketing to make at least monthly purchases via their mobile devices.
Google’s findings are consistent with the advantageous demographics represented by those whose regular shopping habits already include their mobile phones. According to Scarborough Research, shoppers who receive coupons by text or email are predominantly “young, affluent, educated and female.” These findings were complimented by those of Leo J. Shapiro & Associates that those who use “scannable mobile coupons” tend to be “younger, affluent and with families.”
In addition, shopping via a smartphone is inherently location centric, a factor that is purposely designed into their search functions. Consequently, Google reports that more than 95 % of smartphone shoppers have intentionally searched for data on local deals. Perhaps mobile marketing and mobile-coupon campaigns will – ironically – serve to insulate local brick-and-mortar retailers for further encroachment by online-only marketers.
Shopping via a mobile device is an interactive experience, engaging potential customers more fully than can any other coupon-based campaign. For example, display ads – including billboards – can be used to invite potential customers to text the advertiser to receive valuable coupons; coupons that are delivered immediately to their mobile phones. Talk about instant gratification!
Finally, shopping via a mobile device is convenient, applying the automatic organizational features of a hand-held computer to management of the customer’s pending discount portfolio. There are no printed slips to track and organize. Instead, mobile coupons are always ready at hand whenever and wherever the customer requires. Forward-thinking retailers are even offering customers the option of storing loyalty cards as barcode images on mobile devices.
For more on the advantages of mobile marketing, I recommend Honeywell Scanning & Mobility’s Mobile Marketing: Retail’s Next Frontier.