Study: Consumers more and more attached to mobile

New data out from SOASTA indicates consumers are becoming more attached to their mobile devices – so much that many check apps first thing in the morning. According to the report 84% of Americans check mobile apps before they do anything else in the morning; of those attached to their apps, most are checking email (67%) or weather (45%) but more than one-third are checking in with social networks (40%) or news sites (35%).

“It’s clear from our survey that checking mobile apps is becoming part of our daily lives.” said Tom Lounibus, CEO of SOASTA. “From managing their investment portfolios to checking the daily commute, smartphone owners are using apps to gather information and plan their activities wherever they go.”

SOASTA’s data is also shining a light on how shoppers in different US regions are engaging with retailers via their mobile devices. More than half of shoppers in major metropolitan areas, including San Francisco, Dallas and Atlanta have shopped via a mobile device, finds the report. When they’re shopping may be a surprise. The report finds:

• 23% are shopping via mobile during meals
• 20% shop while waiting at the doctor’s office
• 10% say they’ve mobile-shopped during a work meeting or while on a conference call

Meanwhile, new data out from Vibrant Media may have many mobile brands taking a closer look at how their sites perform. According to the results nearly three-quarters (72%) of consumers want the same content quality experience across devices. Unfortunately that ‘quality experience’ is quite different from website to smartphone optimized site to tablet optimized site for many brands.

Tom Pepper, Managing Director UK of Vibrant Media, said, “Consumers now expect to consume content on their handheld devices just as comfortably as they do on their desktop and laptop computers – but don’t feel that publishers’ sites will match their expectations. A separate, fully optimised mobile site is not an absolute necessity to give consumers an effective mobile experience. Publishers just need to ensure that the editorial of their web sites renders effectively on handheld devices and start replacing desktop-only ad formats with much nimbler ads which work across desktops, laptops, tablets and the small screen format of smartphones.”

According to the research 81% of smartphone users, 71% of tablet users ‘prefer to consume’ content via desktop/laptop.