• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 20, 2013

According to a Millennial Media/comScore Study, mobile phone penetration is nearing 100% of the world’s population, with more devices than people. As a result, mobile consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with shopping and spending on their mobile devices. Retail m-commerce dollars currently account for 11% of total digital retail spend. Retail m-commerce sales in the US and UK are forecasted to grow 176% from $49 billion in 2013 to $135 billion in 2017. Spurred by this unprecedented adoption of technology, mobile consumer behavior has continued to evolve.

comScore research suggests that mobile extends the desktop retail audience by 45%, helping consumers to continue their shopping experience across devices, and ultimately driving purchase, by any method. Since the first volume of the Mobile Intel Series on Retail was released in 2011, the report estimates that the mobile retail audience has grown more than 300%. This audience is made up of consumers who frequently engage with retail content and ads on their mobile devices.

The amount of time consumers spend on mobile retail sites using their smartphones or tablets is increasing, now accounting for approximately half of the total retail time spent on digital properties

Retail Category Time Spent by Platform
	% of Respondents
Platform	2010	2013
Desktop	84%	49%
Smartphone	16	37
Tablet	-	14
Source: Comscore Media Metrix, Feb 2013

The majority of the Mobile Retail Audience accessing retail content is 18-44 and male. In the U.S., male smartphone owners are 5% more likely to access mobile retail content than female smartphone owners.

Mobile Retail Audience (March, 2013)
Age Group	Mobile Audience	Mobile Retail Audience
13-17	7%	6%
18-24	15	19
25-34	22	27
35-44	20	21
45-54	17	14
55+	20	13
Source: comScore Mobilelens & Tablens, March 2013

91% of this Mobile Retail Audience owns a smartphone. Apple iOS (45%) and Android (48%) make up the majority of smartphones used by the mobile retail audience. Compared to smartphones, 47% of tablet owners access retail content, and over 50% of this audience has a household income greater than $75,000 a year.

Smartphone Retail Audience Employment
Employment	% of Responses
Full time	57%
Part time	11
Not employed	8
Student	11
Retired	3
Other	10
Source: comScore  MobiLens, March 2013

 

Mobile Retail Tablet Audience (US Household Income)
HH Income	% of Retail Tablet Audience
<$25K	9%
25-50K	18
50-75K	21
75-100K	16
$100K+	35
Source: comScore MobiLens & TabLens, March 2013

When in-store, men and women are both using their smartphones to look for product information, but go about it in different ways. Women are a third more likely to engage in social behaviors, such as texting a friend or family member about a product, while men are two-thirds more likely to scan a barcode or compare product prices.

In-Store Mobile Behavior (% of Respondents)
Activity	% Male	%  Female
Check product availability	47%	37%
Compare product prices	55	34
Find coupon deals	44	43
Find store location	50	40
Purchase online	52	37
Research product features	57	33
Scan product barcode	58	35
Send pix to family, friends	34	45
Text/call  family/friends re: product	24	31
Take pix of product	35	40
Source: comScore  MobiLens, March 2013

Because of this, retail brands can utilize mobile advertising to target in-store shoppers using methods that address these influence factors. Store locators may be a more effective tactic to use with men, while ads linking to a social network may be more effective with women, and can be targeted accordingly.

There are two major factors that have the most influence on consumers making a retail purchase, says the report: price and social factors. Price is the overwhelming influencer on its own, but price is also the motivation when consumers are looking for or using mobile coupons or signing up for store rewards. Social is the second most influential factor overall. Reading customer reviews, social media, and recommendations are all forms of social influence consumers rely on when purchasing a product on a smartphone.

Influential Factors When Purchasing on Smartphone
Factor	% of Respondents
Price	73%
Customer reviews	35
Mobile coupons	33
Expert reviews	24
Store rewards	23
Company sponsored site	19
Personal recommendations	18
Source: comScore Retail Advisor Survey, March 2013

Of the top goods or services purchased on a mobile device, eight of these product categories fall into the retail vertical. Overall, Clothing & Accessories were the top items purchased by both smartphone and tablet shoppers, while Books and Consumer Electronics rounded out the top three retail categories. For all three of these top retail categories, consumers were more likely to purchase these products on their tablets, rather than on their smartphones. According to comScore data, 37% of smartphone and tablet owners who made purchases on their device spent between $50 and $200 during this period. 

Goods or Services Purchased on Mobile Devices (% of Purchases)
Purchased	Smartphone	Tablet
Retail
Clothing & accessories	39%	54%
Books (not eBooks)	23	29
Consumer electronics/Household appliances	21	22
Daily deals of discount coupons	21	23
Gift certificates	15	19
Groceries	13	14
Sports/Fitness equipment	11	10
Flowers	10	9
Online
Tickets	24%	24%
Personal care/hygiene products	19	20
Hotel accommodations	9	15
Airline tickets	8	13
Car rental	4	9
Source: comScore MobiLens & TabLens, March 2013

Two major campaigns goals emerged for retail campaigns to ultimately drive consumers to these end goals: Increased Foot Traffic and Site/Mobile Traffic.

Increased Foot Traffic campaigns help retail advertisers drive consumers into their stores, mainly physical locations. Many brands with this campaign goal layered a Store Locator or View Map action into multiple types of creatives in order to help consumers find the closest location. When compared to all advertisers, retail campaigns focused on Increased Foot Traffic at four times the platform average. 

Site/Mobile Traffic was the second most common campaign goal for retail brands. Whether an advertiser has either physical locations or a digital store, or both, Site/Mobile Traffic campaigns aim to drive m-commerce purchases. 

Advertiser Campaign Goals (% of Respondents)
Goal	All Advertisers	Retail Advertisers
Brand awareness	13%	14%
Increased  foot traffic	9	37
Registrations	16	8
Site/mobile traffic	18	34
Sustained in-market presence	37	7
Source: Millennial Media, Q1 2013

For additional information about this study from comScore and Mellennial Media, please visit here.