• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 3, 2013

According to the 2013 U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study by Telmetrics and xAd, of consumers searching for local products and services, 45% tap mobile devices first, while 49% use PC/Online as their primary media resource. Although 54% of all mobile users (including smartphone and tablet) indicated usage of additional media sources to aid in their purchase decision, 46% exclusively used mobile as their default/primary research tool.

55% of mobile retail shoppers ultimately make a purchase, and immediacy is important with over 30% of smartphone users and 25% of tablet users intending to make a purchase within an hour. Tablet shoppers, however, generally have longer purchase cycles with deeper research intent as 41% take a month or longer to make a purchase

The study also demonstrated that 50% of all mobile users rely on their device at the beginning of the research process, while a third used their device throughout their entire purchasing process.

Local relevancy continues to be a key mobile influencer, as users cite location, local offers and promotions as the top reasons for purchase selection. Nearly 1 out of 3 smartphone users and 1 out of 4 tablet users reference their device specifically for contact information such as a phone number, address or map and driving directions. 60% of consumers expected businesses to be within walking or local driving distance from their current location.

Bill Dinan, president of Telmetrics, noted at a MediaPost Search Insider Summit  “... as mobile device usage increases, so does searchers’ expectations of local relevancy including comprehensive location details... ”

Overall mobile users across the categories studied had very high purchase intent with 60% of smartphone users and 53% of tablet users having completed purchases related to their mobile activity. While the study shows that timing of purchase selection depends on the category and device, 53% of mobile users are making their purchases offline or in-store. This is even more prevalent on smartphones with 74% completing their transactions offline, says the report.

The report points out that, although cross category device utilization in the purchase process was very similar, immediacy of need was extremely varied depending on the category:

• Gas & Convenience and Banking & Finance related needs are more immediate, happening immediately or within a day
• Retail & Insurance needs were less urgent with one-third of needs happening within the month or longer
• For smartphones, 57% of searchers go directly to the branded app or website, while on tablets, the discovery methods vary by category
• Nearly 60% of mobile users (including nearly 80% of tablet users) indicated using their device at home, signaling that mobile usage is starting to cannibalize desktop/PC usage

Data from an online survey of 2,000 U.S. smartphone and tablet users, and actual observed consumer behaviors from Nielsen’s Smartphone Analytics Panel of 6,000 Apple and Android users.

For additional information, please visit xAD-Telmetrics here.