Mobile

A recent Nielsen survey of U.S. smartphone owners who report using their mobile phones while shopping in a store, indicates that consumers use their phones differently depending on the type of store.

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) announced the publication of “Mobile Messaging in North America: A Fresh Look at Current Options for Marketers”. The latest whitepaper from the MMA explores the unique features of several forms of mobile messaging and shares successful examples of how marketers can leverage them to meet marketing goals. The paper also provides a window into the future evolution of mobile messaging.

In March 2012, a majority (50.4%) of U.S. mobile subscribers owned smartphones, up from 47.8 percent in December 2011. Consumers purchasing new phones picked smartphones more often, and among smartphone owners Apple was the top manufacturer of smartphone handsets, while Android was the top smartphone OS.

The rapid adoption of cell phones and, especially, the spread of internet-connected smartphones are changing people’s communications with others and their relationships with information. Users’ ability to access data immediately through apps and web browsers and through contact with their social networks is creating a new culture of real-time information seekers and problem solvers.

A newly savvy and self-reliant breed of shoppers has developed a powerful symbiosis with mobile media devices — forcing marketers and retailers to adapt, and presenting fresh opportunities for brands to engage and win over consumers.

Armed with fast, high-powered smartphones, a new class of consumers, 100 million strong and growing, is rerouting the path to purchase and redefining cultural norms in the US.

More than half of US mobile users will have a smartphone by the end of next year, and as users make the switch, their content consumption will grow to match the capabilities of their new phones. But as the audience grows, the group’s demographic composition will change, and marketers will need to keep up with new touchpoints for reaching the expanding community of smartphone users.

“Mobile Internet – Delivering on the Promise of Mobile Advertising” represents the first in a series of white papers from Yahoo! that provides an overview of the mobile landscape, explores the potential of emerging applications and explains mobile capabilities to marketers looking to integrate mobile into their advertising campaigns. This paper discusses mobile and tablet usage, delivers insights about mobile advertising effectiveness, presents real world case studies and details current best practices in mobile advertising.

Emails may lack flashiness, but they are well received by customers and remain an effective marketing channel. In a February 2012 survey of US consumers, enterprise email service provider BlueHornet found that customers overwhelmingly viewed marketing emails as a way to save money.

Arbitron Inc. announced the launch of a syndicated, mobile consumer research service in the United States.

Within the next decade, smart-device swiping will have gained mainstream acceptance as a method of payment and could largely replace cash and credit cards for most online and in-store purchases by smartphone and tablet owners, according to a new survey of technology experts and stakeholders. DOWNLOAD Report Here.

RedMas revealed the results of their survey of a sampling of the over 28 million Hispanic mobile users in the United States who responded to questions about their vacation preferences and the use of their mobile devices during this time of leisure. Under the title “De Vacaciones: U.S. Hispanics Vacation Trends 2012,” conducted through RedMas’ network of mobile sites, found that Hispanics prefer to spend their vacations with family and at locations with personal significance. According to the study, 40% of those surveyed planned to take vacations this calendar year 2012, with 57% going on vacations at least once a year.

With smartphone users expected to make up over half of US mobile users by next year, content consumption on mobile devices is also on the rise, including video viewing and social networking.

The number of US mobile phone users will increase at a compound annual rate of just 1.8% between 2010 and 2016, eMarketer estimates, moving from nearly 75% penetration to 79% by the end of the forecast period.

Almost half (49.7%) of U.S. mobile subscribers now own smartphones, as of February 2012. According to Nielsen, this marks an increase of 38 percent over last year; in February 2011, only 36 percent of mobile subscribers owned smartphones. This growth is driven by increasing smartphone adoption, as more than two-thirds of those who acquired a new mobile device in the last three months chose a smartphone over a feature phone.