Study: Mobile consumers want personalization

When it comes to the mobile marketplace the more marketers know consumers the better. According to a new survey from ChoiceStream 65% of mobile consumers want to see more personalized ads; more personalization, say these consumers, would result in more mobile purchases.

by Kristina Knight

In fact, the survey reveals that mobile consumers are more likely to react to a personalized mobile ad than an ad in the social space.

It is no secret that marketing to mobile consumers is marketing to a very engaged consumer. Whether mobile search, text message or display ad when the right ad finds the right consumer chances are they will make a purchase, ask for more information or visit a brick-and-mortar store. The problem comes in correctly targeting these mobile consumers.

Just over one-third (37%) of mobile consumers made a purchase via mobile/smartphone in 2009 and as smartphones evolve and become commonplace that number will get higher.

Lori Trahan, vice president of marketing at ChoiceStream said, "As smartphones become more pervasive, it's critical that retailers optimize ads and applications for those devices to overcome the challenges posed by small screens. Product recommendations can help retailers meet these challenges by making it faster and easier for shoppers to find the products they want, driving more sales in the process."

What is the right way to personalize messages? First, marketers need to know what products or services were of interest to the consumer in the past. Simply adding a name to an offer won't engage these consumers. Next, this survey found that product detail pages were key for mobile consumer conversions. Product recommendations on such pages were shown to be useful to mobile consumers.

The survey further shows:

• Most purchases were made after seeing a recommendation on a product detail page (58%)
• Category/brand pages also converted shoppers (40%)
• Transactional emails only coverted 16% of shoppers
• "Recommended for you" statements converted 74% of survey respondents
• Big spenders are more likely to react to "Recommended for you" statements

"Today's shoppers are so much smarter than they were just a year or two ago. They're relying on product recommendations to make purchase decisions and have clear preferences for where and when they want to see them," said Steve Johnson, founder and CEO of ChoiceStream.

Tags: ChoiceStream, mobile campaign, mobile marketing, personalization, personalized messages