Posts Tagged ‘mobile’
Friday, May 17th, 2013
 Mother’s Day online shopping grew 15 percent in the week leading up to Mother’s Day, compared to the same time period last year.
Spurred by mobile commerce, mobile percentage of sales reached 17 percent, according to IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) Digital Analytics Benchmark, a cloud-based analysis of the online retail market.
Here at the TechJournal, we see this as more evidence that digital shopping – and particularly mobile – is the future of retail.
With the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimating Mother’s Day sales reaching $20 billion this year, retailers made it easier for consumers to buy for mom through their smartphones and tablets.
According to IBM’s Benchmark, mobile commerce led the way this Mother’s Day. In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, consumers flocked to their mobile devices, with mobile traffic reaching 25 percent, an increase of 43 percent year over year, with the Apple iPhone and iPad as the consumer shopping devices of choice.
As retailers are making it easier for mobile shoppers to browse and buy with a tap of a finger, customizing mobile apps and web sites for on-the-go consumers, the mobile customer experience has become a top priority for retailers looking to streamline the buying process.
In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, mobile shoppers browsed and completed purchases in three-and-a-half minutes, while desktop users took twice as long, more than six minutes, to complete their shopping session.
That three and a half minute shopping experience for mobile is an eye-opener. Does your mobile app let someone make a purchase that quickly and easily? The six-minute mark for desktop online shopping seems reasonable, although when we know what we’re looking for, it doesn’t take more than a minute at one-click sites such as Amazon.
As merchants continue to invest in upgrading support for digital shopping channels, retailers are designing for a MobileFirst market by simplifying the client experience and deepening connections to consumers.
Key findings from the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark:
- In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, online shopping grew by 15 percent, with average order value reaching $209, representing a four percent increase compared to the same period last year.
- Department store sales grew by more than 20 percent in the week leading up to Mother’s Day compared to the same period last year. Retailers simplified the digital buying experience for customers, with iPad conversions increasing dramatically by more than 315 percent, with iPhone conversions increasing 184 percent.
- In the three weeks leading up to Mother’s Day, online jewelry sales steadily increased, nearly tripling with a 180.6 percent increase in that same period. In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, mobile traffic reached 42 percent, up almost 59 percent over 2012. Mobile sales reached 48 percent, an increase of 38 percent compared to 2012.
- Online sales of gifts including flowers and chocolates more than doubled the week just before Mother’s Day compared to the week before, an increase of 140 percent. Mobile percentage of sales was up 109 percent, reaching 28 percent and mobile site traffic was up 95 percent, reaching 34 percent, in the week leading up to Mother’s Day, compared to the same period last year.
- In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, health and beauty sales were up 40 percent compared to the same time last year, with similar mobile commerce gains. Mobile percentage of sales reached 18 percent, a gain of 16.4 percent, with mobile traffic reaching 27 percent, up 33 percent over last year.
By analyzing these trends, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), sales, e-commerce and customer loyalty executives can better understand and respond to the needs of customers in terms what and how they prefer to buy.
Tags: department stores, gifts, IBM Digital analytics, mobile, Mother's Day, online shopping
Posted in Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
 Technology is one of the most effective ways to bring people together at work, but it may also be causing a digital divide, a new Robert Half Technology survey of chief information officers (CIOs) suggests. Sixty-four percent of CIOs said higher use of mobile gadgets such as cellphones and tablets have led to more breaches in workplace etiquette over the last three years. That’s up from 51 percent who said the same thing in a similar survey three years ago.
The survey is based on more than 2,300 telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies in 23 major metro areas with 100 or more employees. Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis.
CIOs were asked, “In your opinion, what effect has the increased use of mobile electronic gadgets — such as cellphones, smartphones, handheld devices and laptops — had on workplace etiquette in the past three years? Have the number of breaches in workplace etiquette increased, decreased or remained the same?” Their responses*:
|
2013 |
|
2010 |
| Increased significantly |
17% |
|
22% |
| Increased somewhat |
47% |
|
29% |
| Remained the same |
32% |
|
42% |
| Decreased somewhat |
3% |
|
4% |
| Decreased significantly |
1% |
|
2% |
| Don’t know |
1% |
|
1% |
|
101% |
|
100% |
* Numbers may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
 “As mobile devices have become increasingly integrated into the workplace, they’ve helped us become more productive, but they also can serve as a round-the-clock distraction,” said John Reed , senior executive director of Robert Half Technology. “If you’re not fully engaged in a conversation or meeting, you may spend more time replying to emails than listening, for example.”
Added Reed: “These devices can also make it easier to mistakenly offend colleagues when you fire off a communication too quickly, or use the wrong medium for the message.”
Robert Half Technology suggests avoiding these four things to remain in the good graces of your colleagues and manager:
| 1. |
Surfing while talking. Checking your email while someone is trying to have a one-on-one conversation with you is impolite. You’ll come off looking distracted and disrespectful. |
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| 2. |
Leaving a long voice mail. For most communications, you should get to the point quickly. Aim for a voice mail that’s no longer than 30 seconds unless it’s a delicate or complicated issue. |
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| 3. |
Using the wrong form of communication. Can you send a text or IM instead of calling? Along the same lines, email is better than instant message when an immediate response isn’t required. Of course, if you need to have a difficult conversation with someone, picking up the phone or talking in person is best. |
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| 4. |
Taking multitasking to the extreme. While it is generally acceptable to bring laptops and smartphones to meetings, you still must be an active and attentive participant. Reign in the urge to surf the Web, update your Facebook status or check your email every minute. Also set your smartphone to vibrate or turn it off completely. |
Tags: behavior, electronics, mobile, mobile gadgets, workplace etiquette
Posted in Digital Devices, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 1st, 2013
 Two of today’s most talked about brand advertising categories are mobile and online video. Until now, however, brands have struggled with accurately and definitively measuring the return they are getting on their video and mobile ad spending, and deciding how to best allocate their limited marketing and advertising dollars.
MarketShare, which sells predictive analytics for marketers, has just completed one of the first in-depth analyses of video and mobile ad effectiveness as part of the larger marketing mix.
The study, sponsored by Google, quantifies the relative impact of these digital media across several major industries, including autos (entry level luxury segment), credit cards, cosmetics, auto insurance and smartphones, with implications for many others.
How marketing drives consumers
MarketShare analyzed vast amounts of data from Google, YouTube, and other syndicated data sources to establish how, at a category level, marketing drives consumers to engage with search, display, video and mobile channels, ultimately influencing their purchasing decisions.
“Through this analysis, MarketShare and Google are helping marketers better understand how search, online video, and other paid, owned, and earned marketing tactics influence consumer behavior and drive demand,” says Wes Nichols , Co-Founder and CEO at MarketShare.
“At the same time, we’ve uncovered new insights about video and mobile advertising effectiveness that many marketers haven’t seen or been able to quantify before.”
A Marketing Efficiency Index developed by MarketShare compares ad spending on different online and offline channels to actual results (sales or applications). Looking at the overall average for the industries analyzed, findings show that online marketing offers greater efficiency per dollar of marketing spend than offline.
Reallocating marketing dollars lifts sales
By reallocating marketing dollars, marketers with spending levels similar to the category averages studied could expect to generate an incremental 1% to 4% lift in sales. Since the total marketing spend analyzed across all five categories totals more than $8 billion, the stakes are significant.
“Through our efforts with MarketShare, we were able to develop unique category-level models for analyzing digital and traditional marketing channels more holistically, helping us better understand the full value of marketing investments,” says Gunnard Johnson , Advertising Research Director at Google.
MarketShare’s analysis of category-level marketing activity sought to measure how consumers are influenced throughout their “purchasing journey.”
 By including not only paid marketing investments, but also other intermediate outcomes in the purchase journey such as a consumer’s Google queries and content views on YouTube related to a brand (both brand-uploaded and content related to a brand), this analysis went deeper into drivers of brand performance than traditional marketing allocation efforts.
A few key takeaways for marketers include:
- While offline marketing and other environmental factors continue to play a substantial role in driving demand in the categories modeled, digital spending appears to have substantial upside for greater marketing efficiency, particularly for smartphones and auto insurance.
- Desktop search continues to warrant a significant percentage of marketing allocations. In addition, mobile search is an aspect of marketing investment that this study has identified as important, especially in larger categories such as Cosmetics, Credit Cards and Auto Insurance.
- Online video investments via YouTube in the range of 1%-4% of total media budget seem appropriate for high-spend categories, with more considered purchases (e.g. luxury autos or handsets) perhaps even higher. All in all, the model suggests that current levels of brand spend in YouTube appear to be consistently underinvested.
- Quantifying the impact of other consumer touchpoints highlights the importance and potential for paid advertising to influence owned and earned contributions. In particular, the analysis was able to determine the value YouTube “owned” and “earned” content views represent, highlighting their significant overall sales contribution.
Tags: desktop search, efficiency, Google, market research, mobile, online vs. offline marketing, video, YouTube
Posted in Best Practices, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, video | No Comments »
Friday, April 26th, 2013
 Are you seeing more of those barcode scans intended for mobile users? We sure are – and smartphone users are pointing their devices at them in record numbers.
Mobile users conducted more than 18 million scans of QR Codes and UPC mobile barcodes in Q1 2013, according to Scanbury’s quarterly trend report.
The month of March 2013 garnered more than 6.7 million scans alone, the highest-generating month registered since the report began in 2009.
“Mobile engagement is on the rise,” said Mike Wehrs , CEO and President of Scanbuy. “Marketers and brands are continuing to strategically integrate commercial grade QR Codes into their campaigns, providing consumers with relevant and timely content that lead to consumer loyalty, relationship cultivation and transactions, as well as gaining business intelligence for creating long-lasting customer engagements.”
Scanbuy’s Q1 2013 Trend Report highlights the following statistics:
- More men scan mobile barcodes, accounting for 65% of the scans, with women accounting for 35% of the scans
- 57% of scans came from the Android OS compared to 41% on Apple iOS devices
- McDonalds, Publix, Tim Hortons , Kohls and Coca-Cola were the most “liked” brands according to data from the ScanLife app
- The United States ranks highest in volume of scans, followed by Spain, France and Brazil, respectively.
In the study, Scanbuy analyzed thousands of scans that were generated from the ScanLife App or the ScanLife Mobile Engagement Platform. The traffic analysis was performed on all ScanLife processed user activities providing a detailed view across numerous verticals and geographies.
To access the full Mobile Trend Report infographic click here: http://content.scanlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Trend-Report_Q1.2013.pdf
Tags: barcode scans, mobile, Q1 2013
Posted in smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
 Results of new remote access security research show half of companies with a remote workforce had their websites compromised in 2012, over a third had passwords hacked, and twice as many companies with remote users were victims of SQL injection attacks.
Conducted by Webroot, a leader in Internet security as a service, the new study indicates that data theft is the primary goal in new types of mobile attacks. Scenarios include malicious threats that use e-mail, SMS and mobile Web browsers to launch an attack, then silently record and steal data.
Top-level corporate study findings:
- 64% of companies allow remote access to servers for 25% to 100% of employees
- 90% of companies agree that managing the security of remote users is extremely challenging
- 71% of Web security professionals who say managing remote users is highly challenging experienced Web-borne phishing attacks in 2012
The proliferation of mobile devices for business use and the need to grant remote user access exposes corporate networks to high rates of malware threats, including phishing attacks, spyware, keyloggers and hacked passwords.
While allowing such devices to access company resources aids productivity, the potential for new exploits to compromise businesses creates significant security risks to the organization and private data. Enabling remote access to corporate servers requires sensible policies and controls to ensure network security.
The study, which surveyed Web security decision-makers in the United States and United Kingdom, found that companies with 25% or more of their workforce using remote access experience higher rates of Web attacks due to a lack of such protection measures.
“These days, there is so much risk involved from a corporate perspective that remote access protection must be part of all basic tool kits. Vulnerabilities in mobile Web browsers pose a major threat to mobile device security and our latest study shows that they have led to an increasing number of successful attacks in 2012,” said David Duncan , Chief Marketing Officer at Webroot.
“Mobile browser security is essential to reduce the vulnerabilities from websites containing malware and stop phishing attacks. This should be mandatory if employees are to have remote access to any corporate network or other corporate online resources via their mobile devices.”
What can organizations do?
The new “Remote Users Expose Companies to Cybercrime” report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current mobile Web browser vulnerabilities and includes steps to secure browser controls and reduce the risks associated with mobile browsing. You can view the full report at http://www.webroot.com/remote-security-report-2013 or visit Webroot at InfoSecurity Europe 2013, held in London in booth #D60, April 23 through 25, 2013 for a complimentary copy.
Tags: cybercrime, malicious threats, mobile, remote workers
Posted in IT, Mobile, Security, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
 Digital advertising revenues climbed to a milestone high of $36.6 billion in 2012, according to theIAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report for the full-year of 2012.
That historic number marks a 15 percent rise over 2011’s full-year number, which itself had been the highest on record, at $31.7 billion.
The news suggests, along with other reports, that marketers and companies realize that digital advertising offers numerous advantages over traditional channels. That doesn’t necessarily mean advertisers should abandon those channels, however, says BrandSprout Principal Joellyn “Joey” Sargent.
Sargent, who is among the dozens of speakers headed to Atlanta next month for TechMedia’s Digital Summit, says that while digital is increasingly important, it works best in an integrated campaign that includes traditional and offline marketing.
The report, released today by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and prepared by PwC U.S., additionally reveals that 2012’s fourth quarter numbers, at $10.3 billion, rose by 14.9 percent from $9 billion in the final quarter of 2011.
These 2012 Q4 figures represent an uptick of 11.6 percent over Q3 2012, which came in at $9.2 billion.
“As Smartphones get smarter, cellular networks get faster and user penetration of smart mobile devices increases, the combination of personalization and location will have tremendous appeal to marketers”
Other highlights include:
- For the second year in a row, mobile achieved triple-digit growth year-over-year. The past year saw the mobile category surge 111 percent to $3.4 billion, pivoting off of 2011’s record-breaking 149 percent year-over-year rise to $1.6 billion. Mobile accounted for 9 percent of total internet ad revenue in 2012.
- Digital video, a component of display-related advertising, brought in $2.3 billion, marking a significant year-over-year increase of 29 percent in 2012, compared to $1.8 billion in 2011.
- Search revenues in 2012 totaled $16.9 billion or 46 percent of 2012 revenues, up 14.5 percent from $14.8 billion in 2011.
- Display-related advertising revenues in 2012 totaled $12 billion or 33 percent of 2012 revenues, up almost 9 percent from $11 billion in 2011.
- Retail advertisers continue to represent the largest category of internet ad spending, accounting for 20 percent in 2012, followed by financial services, which is responsible for 13 percent of the year’s revenues.
Mobile soared
“These record-breaking numbers represent a paradigm shift when it comes to marketers recognizing the role a multiplicity of screens plays in effectively reaching today’s consumers,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB.
“Mobile, in particular, soared due to its ubiquity and intrinsic ability to serve as a powerful digital dashboard that travels with you from morning commute to nighttime video viewing and beyond. The significant increase in digital video also underscores the importance of the upcoming Digital Content NewFronts and the vitality that sight, sound and motion play for both consumers and advertisers in the digital era.”
“As Smartphones get smarter, cellular networks get faster and user penetration of smart mobile devices increases, the combination of personalization and location will have tremendous appeal to marketers,” said David Silverman, Partner, PwC U.S. “We are just at the tip of the iceberg.”
“For the third consecutive year, digital media ad revenue has racked up double-digit growth, demonstrating the strength of interactive advertising and marketers’ commitment to be where consumers are,” said Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Research, Analytics, and Measurement, IAB.
Here are the results from the full year in comparison with last year’s numbers:
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Full Year
2011 |
|
|
|
Full Year
2012 |
|
|
|
|
% |
|
$ |
|
|
|
% |
|
$ |
| Revenue (Ad Formats) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Search |
|
|
|
46.5% |
|
$14,768 |
|
|
|
46.3% |
|
$16,916 |
| Classifieds and Directories |
|
|
|
8.1% |
|
$2,580 |
|
|
|
6.6% |
|
$2,430 |
| Lead Generation |
|
|
|
4.8% |
|
$1,522 |
|
|
|
4.6% |
|
$1,689 |
| E-mail |
|
|
|
0.7% |
|
$213 |
|
|
|
0.4% |
|
$156 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mobile |
|
|
|
5.0% |
|
$1,596 |
|
|
|
9.2% |
|
$3,370 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Display-related |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| -Digital Video Commercials |
|
|
|
5.7% |
|
$1,809 |
|
|
|
6.4% |
|
$2,330 |
| -Ad banners / display ads |
|
|
|
21.5% |
|
$6,811 |
|
|
|
21.1% |
|
$7,721 |
| -Sponsorships |
|
|
|
3.5% |
|
$1,121 |
|
|
|
2.3% |
|
$845 |
| -Rich media |
|
|
|
4.1% |
|
$1,315 |
|
|
|
3.0% |
|
$1,113 |
| Total display-related |
|
|
|
34.8% |
|
$11,056 |
|
|
|
32.8% |
|
$12,009 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Revenue (Pricing Models) |
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Impression-based |
|
|
|
31.3% |
|
$9,926 |
|
|
|
32.0% |
|
$11,709 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Performance-based |
|
|
|
64.6% |
|
$20,491 |
|
|
|
65.9% |
|
$24,093 |
| Hybrid |
|
|
|
4.2% |
|
$1,318 |
|
|
|
2.1% |
|
$768 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
IAB sponsors the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which is conducted independently by the New Media Group of PwC. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues because the data is compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertisements on the internet.
The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, free email providers, and all other companies selling online advertising. The full report is issued twice yearly for full and half-year data, and top-line quarterly estimates are issued for the first and third quarters. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information.
A copy of the full report is available at: www.iab.net/AdRevenueReport.
Tags: Atlanta, BrandSprout, digital ad revenues, Digital Summit, IAB report, milestone high, mobile, online
Posted in Events, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
With brand loyalty sinking, nearly half (48%) of people between the ages of 18-44 feel that any loyalty they feel toward brands in the future will have to stem from the types of experiences brands create for them, according to a national survey by marketing consultants Analytic Partners.
This includes interaction in the form of video/online gaming, social media and third-party expert information through blogs and articles.
In another recent study, Deloitte found that online and mobile can help bolster a brand’s loyalty.
The Analytic Partners survey of 1,000 respondents, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, unveiled the shopping behaviors and expectations of American consumers that interact and purchase from brands regularly.
Loyalty a two-way street
“The general conclusion we can make from these findings is that people want to be loved by the brands that love them—loyalty has become a two way street,” said Nancy Smith , founder and CEO of Analytic Partners.
“No longer are the days when brands can advocate solely for themselves. In fact, the way brands spend their marketing dollars to interact with their consumers can ultimately have a real impact on profitability. “
Mass Market Retailers & Shopping Habits
 Consumers feel empowered to make purchases when they have the knowledge to make proper decisions.
According to the survey results, more than half (66%) of consumers are shopping online using mass market sites like Amazon and Walmart.com, and despite the ease of comparison price shopping, they feel loyal to the brands they buy (63%) on these sites.
Consequently the determining factor for this lies within the reviews—75% feel that the reviews they read online play a major role in the purchases they make.
Both Gender & Location Factor into Loyalty
Gender and location do play a role in brand loyalty. Of those surveyed, female consumers (68%) are generally more loyal to brands than males (55%). Results also indicated that consumers living in the south are the most loyal to the brands they buy (67%), while those living on the west coast are the least loyal (56%).
Transparency is Key for Baby Boomers
While fair pricing and excellent customer service are top of mind for most consumers, the baby boomer generation (ages 49-67) care more than any other age demographic that brands should be transparent about how their products are made (80%).
“As ecommerce continues to grow in popularity, new methods for consumer interaction are becoming a must for brands that want to strengthen retention and loyalty efforts,” continued Nancy Smith .
“Therefore it’s become increasingly important for brands to look at their data holistically to analyze and develop new ways to meet and exceed consumers’ expectations. Social media is just one of the many channels Analytic Partners considers and analyzes when seeking to understand the efficacy of marketing spend and the role it plays in the larger business scope.”
Tags: Amazon, brand loyalty, digital interaction, gender, location, mobile, shopping habits, Walmart
Posted in Best Practices, Internet/New Media, Marketing | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
The plethora of electronic devices and their distractions distract some from long term goals. The efficiency that technology affords us is undeniable. Yet around-the-clock connectivity and instant access to information is distracting millions of Americans, and having a deep impact on long-term planning, according to data from Northwestern Mutual’s 2013 Planning & Progress Study.
Nearly one in three (31%) Americans say they find the immediacy of society today (email, texting, instant messaging, etc.) distracting, and an alarming 69% say the fast pace makes it hard to stick to long term goals. While that’s a slight decrease from the 74% who said the same in 2011, it’s still a considerable majority.
How about you? Here at the TechJournal, we’re as inundated by technology’s distractions as the next person, and perhaps somewhat more, but we find discipline helps keep us on track.
“We’re living at a time of extraordinary progress and transformative change, where the tools we carry around every day allow us to do almost anything from anywhere at any time,” says Greg Oberland, Northwestern Mutual executive vice president.
“Still, many of the most important things in life can’t or shouldn’t be done at lightning speed. Having a long-term financial plan is a perfect example. There simply are no shortcuts for that.”
Mobile Usage is Up
Two-thirds (66%) of Americans say the immediacy of having electronic devices is efficient both in the short-term and long-term, while one-third (34%) say it’s efficient only in the near-term. Given those efficiencies, it’s no surprise that usage is up.
- More than one in three (36%) people say their usage of electronic/mobile devices (smartphones, cell phones, tablets, etc.) has increased over the past year.
- That number is even higher for Gen Y (43%), men (39%), and parents (43% with kids under 18; 41% with kids over 18)
The Most Distracted Americans
Interestingly, older generations seem to be struggling more than their younger peers when it comes to balancing the pace of today’s society with focusing on long-term goals; but younger people report higher levels of distraction overall:
- Majority of Boomers (74%) and Matures (75%) say the pace of society makes it harder for them to stick with long-term goals, whereas only 61% of Gen Y and 63% of Gen X say the same
- 35% of Gen Y and 36% of Gen X say that the immediacy of society today is distracting, whereas only 30% of Boomers and 24% of Matures say the same
“Younger generations seem to perceive themselves as strong multi-taskers, but they’re also quicker to recognize that it comes at a cost,” said Oberland. “Across all age groups, people are making sacrifices to keep up with their busy lifestyles.”
Nevertheless, studies have shown that people who multitask – even those who think they do it well – may be spreading their attention to thin. Even with all the distractions of technology, concentrating on a single task – which is what you have to do to write or edit, for instance – is more efficient in the long run.
This is consistent with additional findings from the 2013 Planning & Progress Study, showing that more than 1 in 4 (26%) people say they either “often” or “always” feel too busy to think about long-term goals. Meanwhile, 63% think their financial planning needs improvement; and among them, the No. 1 most common obstacle is not having enough time (24%).
Tags: distractions, email, long term goals, mobile, multi-tasking, technology, texting
Posted in Digital Devices, Internet/New Media, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
 There are lessons galore for marketers in the latest American Pantry Study by Deloitte, some of them surprising. Baby boomer interest in mobile tech outstrips that of younger consumers, for instance.
Also, while brand loyalty continues to drop among price-conscious consumers, convenient mobile and online shopping channels can help bolster a brand’s experience and boost loyalty.
Even as the economy improves, 94 percent of Americans indicate they will remain cautious and keep their spending for food, beverage and household goods at its current level, according to Deloitte’s 2013 American Pantry Study.
More than nine in 10 (92 percent) consumers surveyed indicate they have become more resourceful, and 86 percent say they are getting more precise in what they buy — attitudes that have remained consistent in the three years Deloitte has conducted the study, and across income levels.
Despite enduring frugal attitudes, few consumers feel they are making any compromise: More than seven in 10 (72 percent) consumers indicate that, even though they are spending less on household and grocery items, it doesn’t feel like they are sacrificing much, a seven percentage point increase in two years.
Store brands winning out
Nearly nine in 10 (88 percent) survey respondents report they have found several store brands that they feel are just as good as national brands, and few consumers plan to switch back to national brands: Only 27 percent plan to do so as the economy rebounds, an eight percentage point decline from the previous year.
“One of the most notable year-over-year trends in the study is how embedded frugality has become due to the recession,” said Pat Conroy , vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and consumer products sector leader.
“Prudent consumers and improving perceptions about store brands are squeezing national brands’ position. The gap between the few ‘must have’ brands on shoppers’ lists and others on the shelf may be widening, making it more important for brands to differentiate through innovation, quality and performance. Consumer product companies may also consolidate low and mid-level performers and shift investment to the category leaders.”
Brand loyalty declines, shoppers put experimentation on hold
As store brands become more entrenched in the pantry, brand loyalty continues to slide, however consumers appear to be selectively loyal to certain brands.
Brand loyalty dropped for the third consecutive year in the survey. When asked why certain brands are no longer a priority for their households, consumers cited “other brands are available on sale” as the No. 1 reason. However, brands to which consumers are most loyal significantly outpace their lower performing counterparts by 20 or more percentage points on attributes such as performance, experience and trust.
Consumers have also honed in on select brands they will consider. More than eight in 10 (84 percent) consumers say they have a specific set of brands in mind, and will purchase whichever one is on sale. When using coupons, 71 percent indicate they will use them only for items they would have purchased anyway.
Shoppers are also selective about the retail channels where they are willing to purchase certain items.
Consumers surveyed shop an average of 2.5 channels in each product category, compared with an average of 5.5 channels (including grocery, mass merchandise, club, drug, convenience, dollar, neighborhood market and online) for all of their food, beverage and personal goods combined.
Loyalty cards’ importance in consumers’ cross-channel shopping has increased, as the number of consumers with three or more grocery loyalty cards has grown from 28 percent in first American Pantry Study in 2010 to 39 percent in the most recent survey.
Additionally, 58 percent of shoppers surveyed use shopper loyalty cards in grocery stores every time they shop, up 14 percentage points in two years, and 30 percent participate in a loyalty program via their smartphone while shopping in a store. Consumers appear to feel a sense of reward from these efforts: Eight in 10 (80 percent) say it is fun to see how much money they can save by using coupons or a shopper loyalty card.
Online options in demand for household goods, grocery; Mobile shopping interest growing fastest among baby boomers
The 2013 American Pantry Study reveals an unmet demand for online shopping options, particularly for in-store pickup and at-home delivery. While 14 percent of shoppers surveyed currently buy consumer products online and pick them up in the store, 43 percent indicate they would like to do so, with strongest demand appearing in food and beverage categories for in-store pickup.
Approximately one in 10 (11 percent) survey respondents purchase online with home delivery, and the number rises to 34 percent among those who would like to do so, primarily for household goods such as laundry soaps and tabletop disposable paper products.
“Consumers are drawn to the convenience of purchasing frequently-used food, beverage and household items online, and brand preferences will likely extend into their online buying habits,” added Conroy.
“Consumer product companies can use mobile and online channels to strengthen the functional and experiential brand attributes that translate into conversion and loyalty. They should consider aligning their digital efforts with consumers’ location and context to reach shoppers online and on their phones, blending into their list-making, meal planning, product and price-checking, family activities and health and beauty routines.
“They may also market channel-specific product offerings and use these platforms to make product suggestions based on target consumers’ prior shopping behaviors.”
Interest in mobile growing among baby boomers
The latest American Pantry Study also indicates that interest in mobile technology is growing at a higher rate among baby boomers than younger consumers.
Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of respondents age 45 to 70 indicate they are interested in using mobile coupons they can scan at the checkout, up from 12 percent in last year’s survey, compared with a six percentage point increase among respondents age 21 to 29.
Shoppers surveyed are tapping into their smartphones outside the store nearly as often as they do inside the store. Three in 10 (30 percent) consumers manage a shopping list or recipe while in a store, just three percentage points higher than those who do so offsite during the shopping process.
For more information about the 2013 American Pantry Study, including in-depth survey findings, please visit:http://www.deloitte.com/us/pr/2013APS
Tags: beverage, brand loyalty, consumers cautious, food, household goods, mobile, online, shopping
Posted in Ecommerce, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Monday, April 15th, 2013
 In the year that mobile access will overtake fixed-line access as the world’s primary way of going online, multiple technological, economic, and demographic factors are converging to give mobile the capabilities, scale, and reach achieved by few other technological advances, according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group.
In “Through the Mobile Looking Glass: The Transformative Potential of Mobile Technologies,” BCG argues that the realization of this scale and reach is beginning to drive new waves of innovation in companies and economies around the world.
The BCG report outlines three main models of mobile’s development.
The operator-centric “collaborative” model is best exemplified in Japan, where mobile use is most advanced and has had the broadest consumer impact, driven substantially by aggressive partnership building by telco leader NTT Docomo. More than 500,000 merchants now participate in Docomo’s mobile-payment service, for example.
The “competitive” model is most evident in the United States, where players at all levels of the mobile “stack” compete to provide products and services to other industry participants as well as to consumers.
Frenemies fear
Although this model has created thousands of application entrepreneurs and driven mobile’s penetration of many traditional industries, its impact is limited to some degree by fear of “frenemies.” Many companies see the potential of mobile; they also fear that other players will use it to invade their turf.
A third, “greenfield” model is unfolding in many developing markets, such as India and several African nations, which have seen a big increase in the use of mobile phones over the past decade. In these countries, most consumers’ experience with the Internet will be entirely through mobile devices and technologies.
“Forty years after the first mobile phone call, the playing field is uneven, but this does not necessarily benefit rich countries or nations with extensive telecommunications networks, as some might suppose,” said David Dean, a BCG senior partner and coauthor of the report.
“Innovation can come from anywhere and in fact may be more likely to come from places without legacy business models to protect. Perhaps more than any previous technological phenomenon, particularly an advance of such radical proportions, mobile has the potential to be a hard-hitting economic leveler.”
Impact on industries varies
Mobile’s effect on different industries has thus far varied, and this will probably continue to be the case, although the principal difference ultimately is likely to be in speed of adoption rather than extent of impact. In the media and retail sectors, for example, mobile is hastening and deepening the disruption wrought by the Internet.
By contrast, in health care, industry complexity and entrenched interests have thus far limited mobile’s sway, even though consumers, providers, insurers, and other participants all recognize its potential to improve care and lower costs.
The BCG report argues that mobile’s rapid development presents both policymakers and business leaders with a host of complex, rapidly evolving challenges. Governments are hampered by their inability to assess change and address its implications at anywhere near the speed of technological advancement.
Do a mobile “health check”
Companies can simplify the nature of the issues they face by putting their businesses through a “mobile health check” — a roster of questions that clarify their readiness to operate in an increasingly mobile age.
“The overriding question that CEOs need to ask themselves is whether consumers and employees can engage with the company through the device of their choosing, at a time and place of their determination, and come away from the experience satisfied and having accomplished what they set out to do,” said report coauthor Sampath Sowmyanarayan, a BCG partner and global leader of the telecom sector of the firm’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications practice.
“The answer for most companies today is no. Those businesses that are first to be able to give an affirmative response will have a decided advantage as some 80 million Millennial consumers in the United States alone mature into full-fledged economic participants and the next billion consumers come online in developing markets. For these groups, their online experience is going to be 100 percent mobile.”
A copy of the report can be downloaded at www.bcgperspectives.com.
Tags: collaborative model, competitive model, industry impact, innovation, mobile, transformative tech
Posted in Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Thursday, April 4th, 2013
Mobile users now account for one-fifth of all traffic — up from 1.6 percent in 2010 — while desktop traffic has decreased, according to The Content Standard. Seventy-seven percent of that traffic comes from Apple devices, but Android (16 percent) is quickly growing.
Email is no longer the dominant platform for sharing content. While it once accounted for 93 percent of content sharing in 2010, it dropped all the way to 53 percent as of February 2013.
This is due to the improved communication and interaction between brands and consumers through social media, reducing the impact of mass mailing.
“The communication is increasingly two-way and spamming is no longer tolerated,” says Uberflip CEO Yoav Schwartz .
Video another big change
Another big change is that 22 percent of users now incorporate video into their digital content, up from 6 percent three years ago.
This report points to a clear direction for the future of content marketing. First, it cements the basic rule that every brand needs a social media presence. The decline in email use is a reflection of the powerful user networks created by Twitter and Facebook and how easy they make content sharing.
It also reinforces recent arguments for brands to strengthen their mobile presence and increase video content. Look for content marketers to start making full use of Google’s new “Full Value of Mobile” calculator, which is guaranteed to evolve with increased use and data.
The study also emphasizes the need to keep a finger on the tech industry’s pulse — after all, the landscape needs only three years to change.
Here’s an infographic detailing the report’s findings:
Tags: digital content, infographic, mobile, video
Posted in infographic, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile | No Comments »
Friday, March 29th, 2013
 Never mind talking: For more than half of all mobile device users, the number one function via their internet browser is search.
In the past nine months, the total number of visitors to search navigation sites conducted via mobile devices has jumped by more than 25%, with local searches playing a particularly important role – nearly 86 million people now seek local business information on their mobile phones in the United States alone.
More than half of those who conduct local business searches said they use mobile phones for searching because they are on the move. In fact, 56% of those who use local search sites primarily for local business information use these sites on a weekly basis across all devices.
Tip of the iceberg
That is just the tip of the iceberg uncovered in the Neustar Localeze and 15miles Sixth Annual comScore Local Search Usage Study, which analyzes a target sample of more than 3,000 users of local business Internet search.
“What we can clearly see is that the local search market is maturing – what we previously described as a Social, Local and Mobile (SoLoMo) revolution is now embedded in consumer behavior,” said Jeff Beard, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Neustar Localeze.
“Tablet adoption is growing at a blistering pace: It took smartphones nearly a decade to reach 40 million users, while that number was crossed only two years after the iPad arrived. This market is set to keep growing, and businesses need to fundamentally rethink the way local customers are going to find them.”
Mobile and Tablet Searchers Continue to Sky-rocket:
The study demonstrates that the total number of U.S. searchers on mobile phones grew steadily last year – from 90.1 million mobile phone visitors to search/navigation sites or apps in March 2012 to 113.1 million in December 2012.
Tablets also grew as a source for online searches, with 19% growth between April 2012 and December 2012. Both mobile phone and tablet searchers find accuracy of information to be more important than depth of content.
However, tablet searchers are placing more importance on depth of content over time, while mobile phone searchers are placing less importance on this measure. Additionally, mobile phone searchers are more likely to cite maps, driving directions and distance as key information, while tablet searchers are more likely to find consumer reviews and online promotions most helpful.
Successful local business searches conducted via mobile phones are most likely to result in an in-store visit when compared to the outcomes of searches conducted on other devices.
Online mobile phone and tablet searchers, however, are more likely to continue searching and conduct multiple searches than PC/laptop users. Even more significantly, local business searchers using a mobile phone or tablet have a 78% and 77% likelihood, respectively, to make a purchase as a result of their last search, with tablet searchers skewing toward more expensive purchases.
Search via Apps is on the Rise – Facebook and Google Maps Dominate:
 The study also offers a telling glimpse into other current trends, from application usage to social media. Application-based local search nearly doubled in just the past two years, significantly outpacing the SMS and browser markets.
More specifically, of the mobile phone searchers who said they use applications to search for local businesses, 35% use Google Maps. Finally, turning to social media, 92% of those who searched for local business information on social networking sites from all devices used Facebook for that purpose in 2012.
Here’s an infographic detailing some of the study findings:
What are Consumers Searching for?
There are also clear patterns in the choice of local search categories. The healthcare industry in particular needs to take note: pharmacies lead the pack with 86% of consumers looking for a specific pharmacy, while doctors and hospitals rank second with 75%. Banking and finance are not far behind (69%), followed by restaurants (65%). In fact, 23% of those surveyed said the last local business they searched was a restaurant.
“The greatest impact of the Internet is to offer access to information on a global scale, yet it’s equally important in driving business at the neighborhood level,” said Gregg Stewart, President, 15miles. “Consumers now expect accurate, easy-to-absorb information on local businesses on a variety of computing platforms, and those companies that can adapt to this new world have the most to gain.”
For more information on the survey, click here.
Tags: facebook, functions, Google, local business search, Maps, mobile, navigation sites
Posted in Google, infographic, Internet/New Media, Mobile, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Thursday, March 28th, 2013
 Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.8 trillion in 2013, a 4.1 percent increase from 2012 spending of $3.6 trillion, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.
Social, mobile and cloud and information trends are reshaping spending across the business and consumer landscape, the report says.
The Gartner Worldwide IT Spending Forecast is the leading indicator of major technology trends across the hardware, software, IT services and telecom markets.
For more than a decade, global IT and business executives have been using these highly anticipated quarterly reports to recognize market opportunities and challenges, and base their critical business decisions on proven methodologies rather than guesswork.
Shocks should be short-lived
“Although the United States did avoid the fiscal cliff, the subsequent sequestration, compounded by the rise of Cyprus’ debt burden, seems to have netted out any benefit, and the fragile business and consumer sentiment throughout much of the world continues,” said Richard Gordon, managing vice president at Gartner.
“However, the new shocks are expected to be short-lived, and while they may cause some pauses in discretionary spending along the way, strategic IT initiatives will continue.”
Worldwide devices spending (which includes PCs, tablets, mobile phones and printers) is forecast to reach $718 billion in 2013, up 7.9 percent from 2012 (see Table 1). Despite flat spending on PCs and a modest decline in spending on printers, a short-term boost to spending on premium mobile phones has driven an upward revision in the devices sector growth for 2013 from Gartner’s previous forecast of 6.3 percent.
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|
|
Table 1. Worldwide IT Spending Forecast (Billions of U.S. Dollars) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2012
Spending |
|
|
|
2012
Growth (%) |
|
|
|
2013
Spending |
|
|
|
2013
Growth (%) |
|
|
|
2014
Spending |
|
|
|
2014
Growth (%) |
|
|
|
| Devices |
|
|
|
665 |
|
|
|
9.0 |
|
|
|
718 |
|
|
|
7.9 |
|
|
|
758 |
|
|
|
5.7 |
|
|
|
| Data Center Systems |
|
|
|
141 |
|
|
|
1.9 |
|
|
|
146 |
|
|
|
3.7 |
|
|
|
152 |
|
|
|
4.0 |
|
|
|
| Enterprise Software |
|
|
|
279 |
|
|
|
3.5 |
|
|
|
297 |
|
|
|
6.4 |
|
|
|
316 |
|
|
|
6.7 |
|
|
|
| IT Services |
|
|
|
878 |
|
|
|
1.5 |
|
|
|
918 |
|
|
|
4.5 |
|
|
|
963 |
|
|
|
4.9 |
|
|
|
| Telecom Services |
|
|
|
1,655 |
|
|
|
-0.4 |
|
|
|
1,688 |
|
|
|
2.0 |
|
|
|
1,728 |
|
|
|
2.4 |
|
|
|
| Overall IT |
|
|
|
3,618 |
|
|
|
2.1 |
|
|
|
3,766 |
|
|
|
4.1 |
|
|
|
3,917 |
|
|
|
4.0 |
|
|
|
| Source: Gartner (March 2013) |
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Calm ocean hides turbulent currents underneath
 “The global steady growth rates are a calm ocean that hides turbulent currents beneath,” said John Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner.
“The Nexus of Forces — social, mobile, cloud and information — are reshaping spending patterns across all of the IT sectors that Gartner forecasts. Consumers and enterprises will continue to purchase a mix of IT products and services; nothing is going away completely.
However, the ratio of this mix is changing dramatically and there are clear winners and losers over the next three to five years, as we see more of a transition from PCs to mobile phones, from servers to storage, from licensed software to cloud, or the shift in voice and data connections from fixed to mobile.”
Data center spending to grow
 Inside Facebook’s air-cooled data center in Forest City, NC. The outlook for 2013 for data center systems spending is forecast to grow 3.7 percent in 2013, down 0.7 percent from Gartner’s previous forecast. This reduction is largely due to cuts to the near-term forecast for spending on external storage and the enterprise in the economically troubled EMEA region.
Worldwide enterprise software spending is forecast to total $297 billion in 2013, a 6.4 percent increase from 2012.
Although the growth for this segment remains unchanged from Gartner’s previous forecast, this belies significant changes at a market level, as stronger growth expectations for database management systems (DBMS), data integration tools and supply chain management compensate for lower growth expectations for IT operations management and operating systems software.
While the outlook for IT services remains relatively unchanged since last quarter, continued hesitation among buyers is fostering hypercompetition and cost pressure in mature IT outsourcing (ITO) segments and reallocation of budget away from new projects in consulting and implementation.
The global telecom services market continues to be the largest IT spending market and will remain roughly flat over the new several years, with declining spending on voice services counterbalanced by strong growth in spending on mobile data services.
Tags: 2013, cloud, Gartner, growth, information, IT spending, mobile, social
Posted in Cloud, IT, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
More than 30 percent of developers are spending more time developing mobile and cloud-based applications, according to data from a new joint study from Dr. Dobb’s and Forrester Research.
TheGlobal Developer Technographics Survey, Q3 2012 analyzes results from a survey of more than 500 platform-agnostic, programming-language-independent developers from Dr. Dobb’s audience base that collectively represent the full software development community.
Respondents were queried about the types of applications they are writing and how they are writing them and about the state of application development.
The survey turned up trends that could have major implications:
- 35% of developers surveyed are spending more time developing mobile and cloud-based apps. This growing number shows that mobile and cloud are rapidly getting traction in all businesses and that developers are increasingly being asked to adapt their software to new client front ends and cloud back ends. This trend demonstrates how much IT will change in the future — with both ends of its processing pipeline shifting to new platforms — and how organizations’ reliance on developers will only increase.
- 84% of developers use open source software (OSS) products. The greatest adoption rate was in infrastructure, such as operating systems (56%), web servers (52%), and relational databases (47%). Development tools were the next largest categories, with IDEs (41%), SCM (33%), and build tools (22%) being the most popular categories.
- Surprisingly, open-source NoSQL databases (such as Apache Hadoop and MongoDB) were used by 13% of developers, suggesting that the NoSQL phenomenon is real and not just hype. With nearly one in seven developers currently using NoSQL, it’s likely to become a standard part of enterprise software development going forward.
- 75% of developers program outside of their work responsibilities. This not only proves that programmers have a genuine love for programming, but indicates that their motivation for programming on their own time is to explore new technologies.
- Developers must continually learn about cutting-edge technologies and the new ways to use existing products because the rate of change in their industry continues at a rapid pace.
Tags: apps, cloud, developers, Dr. Dobb's, IT, mobile
Posted in Cloud, IT, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Monday, March 18th, 2013
 Video conferencing is evolving rapidly – how it’s used, where it’s used, by whom and for what – and its use as an enterprise productivity tool is also growing rapidly, says a new survey of almost 5,000 enterprise video end-users around the world, fielded by Wainhouse Research and Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM).
The survey results, published under the name “End-User Survey: The ‘Real’ Benefits of Video,” reveal some notable insights into the business benefits of video conferencing, deployment trends, use cases, adoption and insights for future growth.
These include:
The longstanding misconception is that travel reduction is the only ‘real’ driver of video conferencing. This survey, however, shows that soft benefits including improved efficiency and productivity and increased impact during discussions play a prominent role in the video conferencing value proposition.
- The top benefit of video conferencing is increased efficiency/productivity (94 percent), followed by increased impact of discussions (88 percent), expedited decision making (87 percent), and reduced travel costs (87 percent).
- When asked how their companies are using video conferencing today for specific, newly emerging use cases, “Meet with Customers and Partners” is the top response (71 percent).
- Quarter of respondents say they video conference daily, 39 percent weekly, 21 percent monthly, and 14 percent every few months.
- Multivendor environments are the norm, so interoperability is critical – 60 percent say they “primarily use” more than one vendor’s equipment or software to videoconference; 32 percent use three or more.
- Video helps remote workers feel more connected to their colleagues. Of the total respondents who work from home, 87 percent strongly agree or agree that the use of video conferencing allows them to work from home without feeling disconnected.
“This comprehensive study validates what we’ve been seeing from our customers for years. In or out of the office, employees do their best work when they are empowered to meet and collaborate, face-to-face, over virtually any device,” said Andy Miller, president and CEO, Polycom.
“In addition to helping foster a more productive and engaged workforce, video collaboration helps enterprises and organizations thrive by enabling more effective sales and engineering teams, better customer service, and stronger partner relationships.
The world is on a path to ubiquitous video, and Polycom’s goal is to drive that ubiquity by making video easy to use, secure and affordable for all, across the widest range of devices and environments, ranging from immersive theatres to conference rooms, desktop systems, laptops, PCs, browsers, tablets and smart phones.”
Key Findings by Wainhouse Research and Polycom
In December 2012, Wainhouse Research, underwritten by Polycom, surveyed 4,737 end-users of video conferencing systems.
The survey respondents represent all global regions, with 63 percent from North America, 27 percent from Asia/Pacific, 9 percent from EMEA, and 1 percent from Latin America. All company sizes are represented, from small businesses with 1-49 employees (20 percent of respondents) to very large companies with more than 10,000 employees (17 percent) and all points in-between. Vertical industries are also well represented. Click here to download a copy of the full report.
Video Anywhere: Users leveraging video conferencing across devices, environments – in the office in conference rooms and on PCs, and increasingly at home or remotely on mobile devices
- Desktop PCs and laptops are the most common device used for video conferencing (71 percent of respondents), followed by room/group video systems (65 percent), tablets (34 percent) and smartphones (33 percent).
- Conference rooms are the most popular environments for video conferencing today. 79 percent of respondents use video in conference rooms, 69 percent use video in offices.
- The fastest growing video conferencing environment is “on the road” – which includes airports, hotels and client sites.
- PCs are the #1 device for video, but the age of mobile has clearly arrived. Over 90 percent of respondents have a Smartphone, and 75 percent have a tablet. More than 77 percent of respondents use their smartphone for business, and 50 percent use their tablet for business.
- Respondents expect the use of mobile devices for video collaboration will continue to surge over the next year.
For video to grow, it needs to be available to more people, and integrated into business processes.
- Leading drivers for increasing use of video conferencing include equipping more people with video (94 percent of respondents), more accessibility of video (85 percent of respondents), more integration of video in business software (83 percent of respondents) and availability in IM/UC clients such as Microsoft® Lync™ (80 percent).
Tags: mobile, PCs, Polycom, real benefits, research, video conferencing
Posted in Internet/New Media, Studies, surveys, reports, video | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
 Business travel serves as an important barometer for overall economic outlook and sentiment, and consistent with Wall Street’s strong first quarter, employers started out the year bullish with 74 percent of business travelers expecting the same amount or more business travel in 2013, compared to last year,according to a survey of business travelers conducted by the Newsweek & The Daily Beast research department in partnership with Orbitz for Business, the corporate travel brand of Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW).
Online adoption is also strong with 90 percent of respondents booking travel online at least some of time and 67 percent booking at least three fourths of their trips online. Mobile represents a distinct area of opportunity with only 12 percent of respondents using a mobile device to book flights or hotel rooms.
Mobile hot in leisure travel bookings
In comparison, leisure travel booked on Orbitz.com sees much higher mobile penetration, with nearly 25 percent of hotel bookings now being generated through mobile channels. The survey found that over 81 percent of all respondents indicated they are “very satisfied” or “mostly satisfied” with the processes in place to plan, book and execute their business trips.
Among respondents who participate in an employer-mandated corporate travel program, 72 percent were “mostly satisfied” or “completely satisfied” with their employer’s managed travel guidelines and 96 percent feel “very obligated” or “somewhat obligated” to save money for their company when they travel. Further demonstrating an inclination towards policy compliance, 56 percent of managed travelers reported that they never book travel outside company policy and an additional 33 percent said they do so less than 25 percent of the time.
“The results of this survey reinforce what we’ve learned from our clients – booking travel online provides a much more satisfying user experience, as evidenced by our customers’ 90 percent online adoption rate, and business travelers save money for their employer by complying with corporate policy wherever possible,” said Mark Walton , vice president of global strategic accounts at Orbitz for Business.
“Since business travel is an important driver of economic growth, we must continue to provide the service, technology and tools that give travelers the most convenient and cost effective travel options.”
Additional findings from the survey include:
- In the past 12 months, over 37 percent of respondents took five or more business trips and nearly 39 percent stayed at least 20 hotel nights
- Among those respondents in a managed travel program, 47 percent book their own travel while only 17 percent report their travel being booked by the company travel department
- Only 34 percent of managed travelers who book their own trips are “very satisfied” with the technology available to plan and book travel
- Customer service is one aspect of business travel that remains largely in the offline world – nearly 65 percent of respondents prefer to phone a customer service agent if there are any issues while on a business trip
- When it comes to company reimbursement for travel related extras, 65 percent say their company will reimburse for the first checked bag but only 23 percent will be reimbursed for the second. Meanwhile, 58 percent of respondents can expense the cost of hotel room Internet service but only 15 percent can expect reimbursement for in-flight Internet access.
Tags: business travel, hotel nights, managed travel, market strength, mobile, online booking
Posted in Internet/New Media, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Friday, March 8th, 2013
 A recent study of financial industry leaders by Bill.com showed a growing trend towards mobile financial management, with more than 66 percent of respondents now processing transactions from their devices.
In January 2013, Bill.com surveyed 510 CFOs and finance managers across multiple industries who have automated their payables and receivables process in order to better understand their usage of mobile technology for business financial transactions.
The study discovered that a majority of financial professionals are moving to conducting business via the Cloud and mobile devices.
More efficient, competitive
 While many respondents only used devices to process transactions while still clinging to manual processes for cash flow management, those who had embraced the Cloud wholeheartedly and moved to mobile financial management have found themselves to be more efficient, effective and competitive.
Indeed, 44 percent of respondents said that the ability to process mobile transactions is a business requirement.
When asked what percentage of financial transactions were being conducted via their mobile devices, 30 percent of mobile users are processing more than 25 percent of their transactions on mobile devices while 11 percent are processing more than 50 percent of transactions on their mobile devices.
In contrast to past conceptions of mobility, 70 percent of respondents felt that the reliability of mobile financial transactions is good or excellent. In addition, 83 percent found mobility to be secure.
Due to this increased confidence in the security and reliability of mobile computing, almost half of the respondents stated that they wanted to expand the use of their mobile devices beyond approving transactions to sending reminders, adding notes to documents stored on the cloud and, most importantly, managing their cash flow.
No check CEOs using game-changing tech
The survey shows that 43 percent already see managing cash flow from their mobile device as important and, as the nations increasingly moves into an economy run by “No Check” CEOs, the comfort level and need for comprehensive financial solutions on mobile devices will become more and more critical.
“No Check” CEOs are a new generation using game-changing technology to replace time-consuming paper processes with fast, efficient cloud-based systems everywhere in their businesses.
These “No Check” CEOs aren’t tied to their offices, but free to manage their companies from wherever they need to be, with instant, real-time access to their business and financial data from anywhere, 24 hours a day.
Tags: cash flow management, financial industry, mobile, no check CEOs
Posted in Internet/New Media, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Thursday, March 7th, 2013
Nearly 95% of all national advertiser campaigns now leverage some form of location targeting in mobile, according to the quarterly Mobile-Local Performance stas report, which is derived from xAd’s network.
As a consumer’s exact location has shown to be a powerful factor in reaching and engaging desired mobile audiences, advertisers have started to shift from standard geo targeting, often seen in desktop or traditional marketing (based on standard geo boundaries such as zip, city or DMA areas), to geo-precise targeting, which leverages mobile’s unique ability to target users based on their specific location.
The report revealed that search behavioral targeting (targeting based on geo-precise mobile search behaviors), grew 212% from Q1 to Q4 2012 – more than any other mobile targeting technique.
Search behaviorial targeting saw most growth
Although search behavioral targeting saw the most growth, geo fencing (the ability to reach a consumer based on a set proximity or distance away from a specific place or point of interest) was the most popular targeting technique overall, ending the year with over 55% of campaigns utilizing this type of targeting. Standard geo targeting, on the other hand, declined from 64% of campaign targeting in Q1 to just 13% by Q4.
This rapid shift in targeting focus can be attributed to the increased performance and efficiency experienced through more precise mobile targeting techniques.
Across campaigns that leveraged more precise geo targeting, ad waste was reduced on average by 20-30%, while ad performance increased by double digits. Search behavioral targeting provided the highest lift on average, increasing performance 60% over the industry benchmark.
Place-based targeting second
Place-based targeting was a close second, delivering a 55% lift. Throughout the year, xAd’s display and search ads performed well above industry standard performance rates, with locally targeted display averaging a CTR of 0.8% and targeted search a CTR of 8%.
“Mobile users are in constant motion, so their circumstances and needs are continually changing,” said Dipanshu Sharma, CEO at xAd.
“As a result, mobile targeting technology that serves the most relevant information to users, based on their exact location, will deliver the highest conversion rates for advertisers.
As geo targeting techniques become more precise, advertisers can still achieve massive scale by working with partners that allow access to the billions of available mobile ad impressions nationally, enabling them to maximize ROI across a host of specific mobile audiences.”
Additional Highlights:
- Likely because mobile users are typically on the go, the top businesses searched via mobile throughout the year continued to be local restaurants and/or businesses related to travel such as gas stations, transportation and hotels.
- Top growth categories were Entertainment (including bars and clubs, theatres and sporting events/venues) which grew 184%, Health & Beauty (including beauty salons & spas, gyms, hospitals and other health services) which grew 50%.
- In terms of advertising, only one of the top three search categories made it into the top advertising categories – showing a slight misalignment between mobile user demands and specific advertising penetration by vertical.
- Regarding location of search, the South lead with four out of the top 10 cities for active mobile search activity throughout 2012.
- The South also came in tops, tied with the Midwest, for most targeted cities for mobile advertising.
To download a copy of Mobile-Local Performance Stats visit www.xAd.com.
Tags: behaviorial targeting, engagement, location, Marketing, mobile, place-based targeting
Posted in Marketing, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
Fourteen percent of U.S. chief information officers (CIOs) surveyed recently plan to expand their IT teams in the second quarter of 2013, according to the just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report.
Many, however, say they find it challenging to recruit IT pros with the skills they need.
In addition, 61 percent of CIOs said they will not be adding positions but will fill IT positions that open in the next three months. Twenty-two percent will not be hiring, even to fill an open position, and 2 percentexpect to reduce their IT staffing levels.
Q2 IT Hiring Forecast
| CIOs adding more staff to IT departments |
14% |
| CIOs planning to hire only for open IT roles |
61% |
| CIOs planning to put IT hiring plans on hold |
22% |
| CIOs planning to reduce their IT staff |
2% |
“We continue to see strong demand for IT workers as companies increase their investment in technology initiatives, including security, data mining and mobile,” said John Reed , senior executive director of Robert Half Technology.
“Companies are finding it most challenging to recruit technology professionals in specialties such as network administration and database management.”
The IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm.
The survey is based on more than 2,300 telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies in 23 major metro areas with 100 or more employees.
Recruiting Challenges
Seventy percent of CIOs surveyed said it’s somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals today.
Respondents cited networking (16 percent), data/database management (13 percent) and applications development (12 percent) as the most challenging functional areas in which to recruit.
Confidence in Business Growth and IT Investments
The survey results suggest that CIOs are optimistic about their companies’ growth and IT investments. Eighty-nine percent of CIOs reported being somewhat or very confident in their companies’ prospects for growth in the second quarter of 2013.
Seventy-two percent of CIOs also said they were somewhat or very confident that their firms would invest in IT projects in the second quarter of 2013.
Skills in Demand
Among the technology executives surveyed, 51 percent said both network administration and database management are the skill sets in greatest demand within their IT department. Desktop support followed, with 48 percent of the response.
Tags: app development, CIOs, data mining, database management, desktop support, hiring, IT skills, mobile, network, Q2 2013, Robert Half Technology, Security, survey
Posted in Economy/Jobs, IT, Studies, surveys, reports, TechJobs | No Comments »
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