source: http://sdgmag.com/article/business-marketing/make-it-your-business-has-your-business-gone-mobile-yet
As cited by the Mobile Marketing Association, there are 6.8 billion people on the planet and 4.8 billion of them own a mobile phone. Want to guess how many people in the world own a toothbrush? Try 4.1 billion. That’s right…more people have a mobile phone than own a toothbrush. And, our phones are hardly ever beyond our reach. In fact, a Morgan Stanley study indicated 91 percent of mobile phone owners have it within an arm’s length 24/7.
One of my favorite Eagles songs is Hotel California—which was written in 1977. Do you think the songwriters were being somewhat prophetic when they wrote the line, “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device?”
Many consumers are saying so long to traditional platforms for e-commerce and are saying hello to finding places to shop via mobile devices. They are taking advantage of such things as coupons and offers via text messaging, mobile apps, quick reference (QR) codes, location-based marketing, email blasts and social media posts. But, is mobile marketing right for your business? Let’s explore.
Evolution Of The Way We Shop
Consumers are changing how they search for, find and engage storefronts and businesses with the technology that is at their fingertips. Therefore, marketers must change the ways in which they attract and connect with customers.
Consider these incredible statistics from recent studies by the Pew Research Center and eMarketer:
96 percent of the US market is on a mobile phone; 44 percent of Americans own a smartphone; 29 percent own a tablet or eReader-type device.
In 2011, there were 90.1 million smartphone users. By 2015, that number is expected to balloon to 148.6 million—or 58 percent of all mobile phone users.
At the start of 2012, there were 33.7 million tablet users. By 2014, it is estimated nearly 90 million people will own one.
Once searchers on a smartphone found a local business, 61 percent called the establishment and 59 percent visited the location.
eMarketer reports that one in 10 people redeem mobile coupons, which is ten times greater than the redemption rate of traditional coupons that must be printed out to be used.