Category Archives: Mobile

Mobile advertising: A supermarkets opportunity?

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The number of smartphone owners has reached 72 per cent in the UK, growing by 14 per cent in the last 10 months alone, according to research from Deloitte. This increasing figure, and talking point, encouraged me to find out how supermarkets can use this to their advantage. With instant access to the Internet and the ability to download applications, the UK consumer has the opportunity to buy any product, of any value, anywhere at any time. This raises the question ‘whose opportunity is it… the consumer or the seller?

 

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Whose opportunity is it?

Internet orders placed at grocers and online food specialists for home delivery and customer collection, as of 2014, accrue to £7.7bn of the UK grocery market sales.

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This staggering figure is only due to increase through technology development, technological trends as well as the process being efficient and reliable. Therefore it is increasingly important for supermarkets to address this opportunity with regular updates and management of advertising on mobile sites.

Online consumers are looking for easy and inventive ways of shopping to increase efficiency of time consumption as well as the money they spend. InMobi (2014) states that a recent survey of modern UK grocery shoppers revealed they use their mobile to compare prices (46 per cent), collect promotions and discounts (35 per cent) and find nearby stores (28 per cent). The study also revealed that showrooming (where consumers compare prices from rival retailers on an item whilst in-store) is not just for bigger purchasing decisions, with 29 per cent of respondents admitting they look for better priced grocery items on their phone while in the store.

But what does this mean?

Its all very well being able to show facts and figures but it is necessary to understand what opportunities these statistics can provide for a supermarket. Advertising through the mobile platform provides a number of windows to gain a competitive advantage that would not be obtainable elsewhere. Mobile ads target an audience at their point of need making mobile advertising a popular and effective marketing strategy. Here are what I believe are the main advantages to mobile advertising:

  • Round the clock access to consumers
  • Increased consumer audience
  • Increase brand awareness
  • Cost efficient advertising
  • Intimate and personal relationship is built

Further to this a mobile ad provides the opportunity for a consumer to access an organisations website instantly, encouraging on the spot purchasing and building further brand awareness.

The Future – Don’t get left behind!

Gartner analysts projected that mobile advertising spending globally would reach $18 billion in 2014, and by 2017 the market will be worth around $41.9 billion (Levanon, 2015). This suggests, if we didn’t already know it, that the future of mobile advertising is going to be extremely influential for marketers. With the average UK household owning 7.4 mobile devices that connect to the internet (E-commerceWeek, 2015) and the industry of mobile advertising in the UK worth £7.2bn it is up to individual supermarkets to address this opportunity to ensure they don’t get left behind.

References

Hoelzel, M. (2015) ‘Mobile advertising is exploding and will grow much faster than all other digital ad categories’, Business Insider. Business Insider. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/mobile-is-growing-faster-than-all-other-ad-formats-2014-10 (Accessed: 15 April 2015).

InMobi (2014) ‘Mobile Has Disrupted How We Shop for Groceries – and That’s a Good Thing.’ Available at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/mobile-digital-marketing/mobile-has-disrupted-how-we-shop-for-groceries-and-that-s-a-good-thing/1192 (Accessed: 15 April 2015).

Levanon, C. (2015) ‘Top 5 Trend Predictions for Mobile Advertising in 2015.’ Target Marketing. Available at: http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/top-5-trend-predictions-mobile-advertising-2015/1 (Accessed: 6 March 2015).

Sarah Coleman Senior Retail Analyst – Multichannel and 2015, I. 10 M. (2014) UK Grocery Retailing. Available at: http://www.igd.com/our-expertise/Retail/retail-outlook/3371/UK-Grocery-Retailing/#3 (Accessed: 6 March 2015).

Styles, K. (2013) 7 in 10 People in the UK Now Own a Smartphone. Available at: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/7-10-people-uk-now-own-smartphone/ (Accessed: 6 March 2015).

Week, ecommerce (2015) Mobile now accounts for 23% of UK digital ad spend | News, ecommerceweek. Available at: http://www.ecommerceweek.co.uk/news/515/mobile-now-accounts-for-23-of-uk-digital-ad-spend/ (Accessed: 15 April 2015).

Why it’s important to be ‘appy’

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We are living in a generation of people that need to know things instantly. How much is that? Where can I get it? Is it cheaper somewhere else? All of these questions are asked frequently throughout our everyday lives and we can access the answers immediately via a smartphone, which 72% of us in the UK now own by the way (Styles, 2013). With 89% of consumer media time in mobile apps (Colwyn, 2014) it is almost expected that an organisation have an up to date, articulate app for their consumers to access and navigate.

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Melanie Haselmayr (2014), contributor at Forbes, suggests there are 7 reasons why a business needs a mobile app:

  • Visible to customers at all times – Once an app is downloaded it is available to consumers every time they open their phone. Your app logo is visible to consumers and promotes the brand.
  • Creates a direct marketing channel – Through push notifications you’re getting even closer to a direct interaction, and can easily remind. customers about your products and services whenever it makes sense.
  • Provides value to customers – Opportunity to offer promotions and unique discounts through app purchases only.
  • Builds brand recognition – The more often you can get customers involved with your app, the sooner they will be inclined to buy your product and/or service.
  • Improves customer engagement – Easy and convenient access through a mobile device can provide instant information and an opportunity to engage in buying products wherever the consumer may be.
  • Chance to stand out from competitors – By offering unique experiences and providing exclusive information an organisation can gain competitive edge.
  • Cultivates customer loyalty – Whilst brand recognition is improved a relationship between consumer and organisation is built being just ‘a fingertip away’.

But just having an ‘articulate app’, as mentioned previously, isn’t the final stage of success for this digital strategy. It is important to stay relevant and provide up to date information for the intended consumer, to engage with regularly, in order to improve customer retention. This will also encourage positive feedback in the customer review section of an app store. Joe Marcynski (2013) states that 61% of online shoppers read a review before making a purchase and potential customers who engage with reviews and questions are 105% more likely to make a purchase.

To put it to the test, which one of these apps would you download? All three serve the same purpose of tuning a guitar and all are free to purchase from the App Store.

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With mobile apps becoming a part of our every day lives it is clear to see the advantages available when having an app for your business. Keeping the app relevant and useful for consumers is just as important as designing it in the first place.

References

Colwyn, S. (2014) ‘New consumer media consumption research – Smart Insights Digital Marketing Advice.’ Smart Insights. Available at: http://www.smartinsights.com/marketplace-analysis/customer-analysis/consumer-media-device-use/ (Accessed: 10 April 2015).

Haselmayr, M. (2014) ‘Here’s Why Your Business Needs Its Own Mobile App’, Forbes, 17 November. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2014/11/17/heres-why-your-business-needs-its-own-mobile-app/ (Accessed: 9 April 2015).

Marczynski, J. (2013) The Importance of Customer Reviews. Available at: http://www.labelmedia.co.uk/blog/the-importance-of-customer-reviews.html (Accessed: 10 April 2015).

Styles, K. (2013) 7 in 10 People in the UK Now Own a Smartphone. Available at: http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/7-10-people-uk-now-own-smartphone/ (Accessed: 9 April 2015).