Thursday, August 8, 2013

Mobile Sites Attract More Shoppers Than Buyers

More consumers use mobile to research purchases than make purchases, according to the latest Forrester Research.  Only 13% of U.S. adults with a mobile phone report using it to purchase a product, although the purchase rate jumps to 30% for tablet users. As a result, the conversion rate on the average mobile site is only 1% compared with 2% to 3% for computer access. Marketers should still hone their mobile pitches, however, since 37% of U.S. online adult tablet owners and 14% of online adult mobile phone owners are using their devices to research products and prepare to make a purchase. U.S. online consumers are also using their devices to read customer product reviews (tablet 28%, mobile phone 10%), locate a store and check store hours (tablet 17%, mobile phone 16%), and check product availability online (tablet 16%, mobile phone 7%). If you want to get that mobile conversion rate up, make sure you aren't creating barriers to purchase. Forrester found the main stumbling blocks to more mobile purchasing were web sites not optimized for mobile, concerns over the security of mobile payments, and patchy wireless connections. For a more detailed portrait of mobile consumers, see the internetretailer.com story at http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/05/15/forrester-research-paints-vivid-picture-typical-mobile

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Summer's End Marks Launch of Holiday E-mail Plans

We're in the dog days of summer, but smart e-mail marketers are already planning for the year-end holidays. In August and September, e-mails can prime shoppers for their holiday shopping, with mobile app downloads or credit card offers, for example. In October, when the average amount of promotional e-mail from retailers starts to jump from 18 to 20 messages per subscriber, digital marketers can stand out by touting pre-holiday sales, pre-ordering of hot items, wish lists and layaways. By November, those who haven't planned ahead can get lost in the chatter as retailers send an average of 25 promotional e-mails to active subscribers. Because mobile can hook holiday shoppers even outside of stores or homes, many now map out a promotional drive of mobile-friendly e-mails throughout November, including early-in-the-month Fridays and Thanksgiving Day itself as well as the traditional Black Friday shopping kickoff  and Cyber Monday, the busiest e-mail marketing day of the year. For a useful holiday e-mail planning calendar courtesy of ExactTarget, see the infographic at http://www.marketingprofs.com/chirp/2013/11270/the-email-marketing-holiday-calendar-infographic.