Mobile

In the past year alone, the number of US mothers using smartphones increased nearly 34%, BabyCenter reported in September 2013. Of this number, 46% of survey respondents said they felt addicted to their smartphones, always keeping them at their sides as “backup brains” while on the go.

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook have quickly built significant mobile revenue streams—on the basis of significant mobile user populations.

Both smartphone and tablet use saw a large leap among US teenagers ages 13 to 17 between 2012 and 2013, according to an October 2013 survey from the nonprofit Family Online Safety Institute (FOFSI) conducted by Hart Research Associates.

Mobile has attracted a sizeable bulk of US consumers, but the vast majority use desktop and laptop computers along with mobile devices, according to a new eMarketer report, “Redefining ‘Mobile-Only’ Users: Millions Selectively Avoid the Desktop.”

Digital has complicated the path to purchase. The orderly progression from discovery to consideration to purchase to loyalty is now more of a tangle of paths, with multiple channels available for consumers to follow. However, the broad model of the sales funnel is still a useful metaphor, and it helps frame the role of mobile advertising in the retail industry, according to a new eMarketer report, “Mobile Advertising in Retail: Tracking the Changing Purchase Path.”

“Mobile-first” is becoming quite the buzzword, but not every marketer is taking a mobile-first approach to better target and engage consumers. Johnna Marcus, director of mobile and digital store marketing at Sephora, spoke with eMarketer’s Rimma Kats about the importance of reaching customers on devices that are personal to them.

Multiply the $2.5 trillion of purchasing power controlled by mothers (BSM Media) by the 50% of moms who used a mobile device to make or influence purchases last year and what do you get? Okay, I know you can’t multiply unlike terms, but work with me here. You get a plethora of spending power funneling into one channel to buy, or influence the buying of, a wide variety of goods and services.

As the market for beverages continues to fragment and brand extensions grow, brands are jockeying for position on store shelves and competing for consumers’ attention in social media, according to a new eMarketer report, “CPG Focus—Beverages: Emerging Mobile and Social Strategies.”

According to the IAB, mobile advertising spend is growing at an unprecedented rate, doubling in 2012 alone from the previous year to reach $3.4 billion. But research is just beginning to tap into what makes this new advertising medium tick, and there is much for marketers and the industry at large to learn about leveraging mobile channels most effectively.

eMarketer estimates the number of US mobile phone gamers will reach 125.9 million in 2013. By 2017, that number is expected to grow to 191.3 million. It’s no surprise that the video game industry, including marketers that target their audiences through gaming, now views mobile as a primary platform.

In a new survey of user habits, lead researcher Praveen Kopalle of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth discovered, to no one’s  surprise, that people interact with the desktop and mobile Web quite differently.

The allure of digital banking is typically its convenience, and ironically, the less banking customers go into physical branches, the more likely they are to interact with their financial institutions.

Any parent who has ever watched their child hunched over their smartphone, furiously tapping away, may have wondered – “What exactly are they doing?” And, “Should I check their phone?”

Attracting potential travelers is a constant balancing act for advertisers.

Smartphones and tablets continue to ingratiate themselves with mobile phone users. Smartphones became the norm in the past couple of years, and now tablets too are settling into that territory. That’s according to data from research company Frank N. Magid Associates, which found that the number of US mobile phone users who owned or used a smartphone this year reached 74%, up from 58% the previous year. The tablet ownership rate among this group saw an even more dramatic increase, reaching above half of mobile phone users in 2013, up from 33% in 2012.

T-Mobile announced a multi-year partnership with international singer, songwriter and Grammy Award-winning music icon, Shakira.

Smartphones are the all-purpose device-of-choice among mothers, according to an August study from BabyCenter, which found that in the past year alone, the number of US mothers using smartphones increased nearly 34%. And 46% of these mothers admitted being addicted to their smartphones. In fact, when asked which device they would keep if they could only choose one, more than seven out of 10 mothers who owned a smartphone, tablet and PC said they would keep their smartphones and scrap the rest.

Native advertising may still be a format brands and publishers are experimenting with, but that doesn’t mean they are slowing down rollouts of native content.

As mobile platforms advance, one of the most valuable components, location, has revolutionized marketing outreach. Slated to grow to a nine billion dollar industry in a matter of years, location offers an unprecedented advantage for marketers to connect with consumers at the right place and time.  

Whether checking in at a coffee shop or finding a tailor down the block, the prevalence of smartphones has turned mobile users into active sharers of their location and searchers for nearby establishments. And these two trends offer significant opportunity to advertisers and retailers, as social-local-mobile integration can help businesses better target users in the right place at the right time.