With many kids heading back to school in the coming weeks, parents are as engaged as ever with many brands and businesses. Whether they’re searching for deals or shopping online, good moms and dads everywhere want to make sure their kids are ready for the school year – which could make them good customers as well to savvy brands and businesses.
A lot of emphasis has been placed on the value of tablets and smart phones, and consumers with children and proving in this summer. According to a study from Placecast, parents are more likely than childless consumers to use their mobile phones to:
Visit a business’ website
Use an app from a business
Purchase an item online
Do comparative shopping via a barcode scanner
Respond positively to an email marketing campaign
But rising digital trends doesn’t mean print campaigns are moot; parents want to find the best deals and promotions possible, and coupons still have a strong presence in print. Consumers with kids are 10% more likely to clip and redeem coupons from a newspaper or direct mail piece, and 33% of those parents polled said they actively search for promo codes and discounts wherever they can.
Parents don’t just represent themselves; they represent entire families, with a real need for both specific products and a desire to save money. They’re a strong demographic to target, both in print and digital, and especially this time of the year.
Businesses are finding more value than ever in mobile consumers these days, and for more than the obvious reasons. But with more engaged consumers comes more responsibility for businesses to ensure they retain them.
M-commerce users are more likely to do research on a product or service, purchase it online and share reviews online later on. They also tend to be less sensitive to a product’s cost and more influential via their online feedback.
49% of consumers polled by Greystripe said they were more likely to write a review online, and 51% said the easier something was to purchase, they more likely they would buy. 54% said they actively used their device while in a store to help make a decision.
This high degree of mobile engagement creates many opportunities, such as mobile coupons and full-screen mobile ads, but it also emphasizes the need to make the process as easy for consumers on their devices as possible.
Motorola Solutions recently surveyed a group of businesses, with more than half said they were planning on having in-store Wi-Fi, mobile shopping and/or the ability to buy on a device and pick up in-store within the next five years.
The reasoning varied, whether it be to keep up with competition or to increase their inventory choices, but most importantly to cater to their customers. 30% of M-commerce users polled indicated they wanted the ability to order on their phone and pick up the same day at a business’ location.
The bottom line is consumers are savvier than ever these days thanks to the mobile revolution, and it’s up to businesses to keep up.
Grocery retailers are still heavily invested in print products for sales, even at a time where retailers virtually everywhere else are focusing their budgets on mobile coupons and websites, according to coupon and circular insert producer Valassis.
Valassis polled over 50 national and independent grocery stores or chains to establish these results. Among the findings:
90% of grocery retailers use weekly circulars as their main promotional device
50% of retailers saw increases in sales from their circulars
25% saw increased customer retention from their circulars
Newspapers remain the most popular delivery method of their print platforms, followed by shared mail and then directed mail. All three print products led various digital models of promotion by large margins.
Digital media marketing is expanding for grocery stores, though – 66% of the stores polled said they expected to use more digital methods in the future.
Clicks from paid search have increased by 18% globally, while impressions have increased globally by 7%, according to Covario. The SEO & search marketing firm released its latest report this week, which found that global search spending has grown up to 17%
The study also found that while Google still controls the search market with 86% of the market, Yahoo/Bing has seen a 30% increase in the last year.
The report’s author, Charles Gaylord, says that the large growth rate is from its measurability and resiliency, and that it will likely continue to grow through the rest of the year, due to upcoming events.
With many kids heading back to school in the coming weeks, parents are as engaged as ever with many brands and businesses. Whether they’re searching for deals or shopping online, good moms and dads everywhere want to make sure their kids are ready for the school year – which could make them good customers as well to savvy brands and businesses.
Businesses are finding more value than ever in mobile consumers these days, and for more than the obvious reasons. But with more engaged consumers comes more responsibility for businesses to ensure they retain them.