Mobile and the Shopper Marketing Business

“What gluten-free cake mixes taste the best?”
“Where can I buy allergy medicine at 11:00PM?”
“Which diaper brand is on sale this week?”

What do these questions have in common?
1. They all imply a purchase will be made in the near future.
2. They can all be answered using your mobile device.

Recently, Google’s Jim Lecinski and Brian McDevitt spoke at the In-Store Marketing Institutes's annual Shopper Marketing Summit. The duo discussed the impact of mobile on the path-to-purchase process and what this shift means for marketers.

Jim Lecinski, Google's Managing Director, U.S. Sales and Service, kicked off the session by stating that mobile’s role in the path-to-purchase is actually very simple. Shoppers rely on the mobile web to research products and services both pre-store and in-store.  And when shoppers read reviews or find weekly deals online, this information can change what they buy and where they buy it.  In fact, 79% of smartphone users use smartphones to help them shop and 74% have purchased due to using their smartphone while shopping (Google’s “Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users” study 2011).

Because the mobile Internet has a direct impact on consumer purchase decisions, it is critically important for marketers to have a mobile presence when their target shoppers are in mobile errand planning and buying mode.  

Continuing the presentation, Brian McDevitt, Google's Mobile Display Ads Lead, shared a scenario of the mobile-mom-of-the-not-too-distant future using her mobile device to plan for her son’s birthday party.  Through the course of her day, she experiences:

1. A Mobile Website that helps her find the right product, quickly and easily.
   
2. Mobile Brand Applications that assist her in tracking down the right recipe to serve her guests.
   
3. Mobile Retailer Applications that show her weekly deals at local stores
   
4. Third Party Applications & Sites that enable her to build shopping lists across retailers, provide coupons and give suggestions for relevant products
   
5. Google Maps or Ads with Location Extensions that help with navigation to local stores
   
6. Google Mobile Search & Display Ads that connect the entire experience so it’s easy to find relevant information on a mobile site or application.  

And the great part is that this fictional mom could exist today.  All of these mobile capabilities and more are available now to create a seamless mobile shopping experience for your customers. 

Wrapping up the session, Jim laid it on the line when he said, “Mobile is the key to shopper marketing.”  I happen to agree.

Posted by Katrina Shonbeck, Mobile Display Account Planner