IAB determines U.S.'s most mobile-savvy cities

The Interactive Advertising Bureau's 2012 U.S. Mobile Shopping Savvy Cities Index, the second to be released, ranks cities according to their mobile shopping audience and how much residents either complete purchases via their mobile device or use them to research products later bought in brick and mortar stores.

The study pinpoints cities where advertisers need to quickly embrace mobile strategies as part of their overall plans to attract shoppers.

"Identifying mobile shoppers and delivering relevant messages to consumers as they are in shopping mode represents a key opportunity for marketers," says Joe Laszlo, Deputy Director, IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence.

For the second year running, Houston takes the top spot with Seattle-Tacoma and San Francisco replacing New York and Atlanta in second and third place. Last year, the San Francisco area, traditionally the center of all things tech, was outside the top 10 in eleventh place.

This year's index looks like this:

1. Houston
2. Seattle-Tacoma
3. San Francisco
4. Los Angeles
5. New York City
6. Atlanta
7. Chicago
8. Dallas-Ft. Worth
9. Boston
10. Philadelphia
11. Washington, D.C.
12. Detroit
13. Tampa-St. Petersburg
14. Phoenix
15. Minneapolis-St. Paul

Tags: mobile marketing, mobile trends, research, U.S.