Avid Users conducting more than half of local searches

October 30th, 2012

When you’re developing your local search strategy, you should consider this. An emerging group of local search users lead the way in how often and how many searches they conduct across multiple devices, according to a survey sponsored by YP, a local search and advertising company.

It calls the group of early adopters “Avid Local Search Users,” and while they represent only 24 percent of all local searchers, they conduct more than half of all local searches.

Who are these Avid Users? How do they differ from Average Users?

The survey says Avid Users are much more likely to search for local businesses, across each of the devices they own, compared to the rest of the users surveyed, known as Average Local Search Users (Average Users).

For example, 85 percent of Avid Users who own a tablet do a local search daily, compared to only 15 percent of Average Users with tablets.

Similarly, 86 percent of Avid Users who own a smartphone do a local search daily on that device (compared with only 19 percent of Average Users who own a smartphone).

Both Avid and Average users split evenly between men and women, but Avid user are more likely to be fully employed (72 percent vs. 49 percent); more likely to be college grads (57 percent to 47 percent); and younger (51 percent vs. 32 percent between the ages of 21 and 35).

“Understanding this emerging segment of Avid Users can provide insights on the local advertising ecosystem and could help merchants develop multi-screen search strategies for targeting a highly engaged audience,” says Rohan Cahndran, executive director of consumer products at YP.

Avid Users Reflect Early Adopter Behaviors

Avid Users are much more likely to use mobile shopping apps (91 percent vs. 53 percent of Average Users) and to purchase daily deal offers (38 percent vs. 10 percent). Avid Users are also active participants in social media – more than half have checked in to a location using Foursquare or a similar service and have posted a review of a business or product on a review site.

“The behaviors of Avid Users are similar to the behaviors of early adopters,” added Dr. Phil Hendrix, founder and director of research firm immr, who led the study in collaboration with media and events company Street Fight.

“It’s crucial to understand early adopter behaviors, as they provide a glimpse into the future of how the majority of consumers will be conducting local searches with multiple devices – which has implications for businesses and the entire local search industry. As consumers’ needs and expectations for local search diversify across devices, providers and businesses will need to adapt search solutions accordingly.”

“Local search continues to deliver an increasingly sophisticated means of hyperlocal marketing to the local consumer,” said Laura Rich, CEO of Street Fight.

“This report reveals a growing opportunity for businesses in this industry and for local businesses and marketers to efficiently draw consumers to their products and services.”

Avid Users conducting more than half of local searches

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