A Framework on Mobile Internet Shopping

T he one thing that is constantly increasing in the positive sense, unlike inflation and petrol prices, is technology. The advancement in technology is like an unstoppable force that never fails to impress. This time we will focus on the role a simple mobile can play on our daily lives. Walking down the street, you will barely notice a person with any other handset apart from a smart-phone. The concept of a postman is similar to that of a dinosaur, totally extinct!

The consumer of today, has this undying need to simply be logged into a social networking site no matter how engrossed they are with other chores or tasks for the day. Well, this is just a small attempt to bestow upon you the importance and the need of mobile phones today.

The interesting thing here, is that marketers have noticed this need and hence have been presented with a gigantic opportunity to reach a massive chunk of the target audience while they are shopping. (sounds interesting, doesn't it?)

Yahoo & Nielsen have conducted a study to further help you to understand this concept in a better manner. The aim here is to understand the impact of mobile advertising and its result on purchases. This is where 8,384 U.S residents, aged between 13yrs-64yrs, were interviewed via an online survey conducted in June 2010. They were questioned on the following product categories:

• Apparel & Accessories
• Auto & Parts
• Dining
• Beauty & Personal Care
• Entertainment Items & Content
• Travel
• Financial Services
• Consumer Electronics
• Food & Beverage
• Health
• Home Improvement
• Mobile Digital Content

Courtesy: Yahoo, Nielsen

The results were mighty interesting. The mere graphs indicated that mobile devices make for a great advertising tool when it comes to shopping as about 9/10 people access the internet over their phone while shopping at a store or a mall. That's great, but from these, 50% of the web activity is related to shopping. A remarkable 51% are influenced through mobile advertising. 86% of the users access their smart-phones while watching a programme on the television at home. In simple words, for those who aren't graphically sound, advertising over the second screen has a very promising future.

Advertisers have certainly taken a huge creative step when it comes to developing advertising techniques over the mobile devices. These advertisements provided the price, features and benefits of the particular product. Well, it is safe to say that, the term 'shop till you drop' has been taken to a whole new level of convenience. This study has definitely set a touchstone, when it comes to measuring the behaviours and attitudes of mobile phone users, across these 12 different categories.

Digimouth Speak:

33% use mobile apps and 40% use social networking -- TV Show brands can now use this to their advantage to captivate audience attention during TV shows, get their feedback on the brand on social media networks in order to further increase apps usage created by brands.