Industry News
Mobile alerts influence 27% of consumers to make a purchaseA new Harris Interactive survey in the US reports that 27% of surveyed consumers stated that their decision to purchase a product was influenced by either text or smart phone application based messaging. In addition, one third said that these alerts affected their decision to visit a store. The research, during May 2010, surveyed over 2000 consumers of 18 years of age and older that had previously opted-in for receiving mobile messaging alerts. It suggests that the youngest audience, between the ages of 18 and 34, were most interested in receiving this style of communication with women being more interested in the 45 to 54 age segment.
In terms of particular shopping categories, groceries were most popular with 68%, restaurants with 64% and fast food 50%. Women showed more interest in promotions for groceries and apparel, while men were more interested in offers on electronics and sporting goods. The effectiveness of text in particular to influence consumer behaviour is also supported in a recent campaign undertaken by Mobilize for the UK's biggest online seller of clearance grocery, Approved Food & Drink Ltd. A simple SMS call to action tied to an online offer proved very effective when sent to 6000 opted-in customers. Within the first 3 hours after the texts were sent, there was a fivefold increase in the volume of orders received, compared with the previous day. “This latest Harris survey adds to the growing weight of evidence that demonstrates the ability of targeted mobile marketing to positively influence consumer preference.” Commented Stefan Magnusson, CEO of Mobilize, “It also outlines the importance and effectiveness of running opt-in programmes that respect the consumers’ preference for these services.” Previous Articles: The Mobile Market for Advertising and Coupons in Retail will be worth $8bn by 2012 | | Our Thoughts
Coupon Redemption Rates Outperform On MobileOne of the most debated topics in the area of mobile marketing is whether or not redemption rates are somehow pre-ordained to be higher than coupons distributed through other media. If that’s the case, then it makes sense for brands and retailers to engage and retain their customers through mobile , as high redemption rates would imply high levels of customer engagement.  Two sets of figures on redemption rates were released recently, one from IHOP, a US digital marketing agency, and one from Vouchercloud, a new UK based mobile coupon iPhone app. IHOP states a ten percent redemption rate of mobile coupons that they distribute, and Vouchercloud claim an amazing 42%.
These numbers far outrank traditional redemption rates. A standard paper coupon campaign would be proud to report a redemption rate over one percent and an email campaign might sit at five (which is why the higher "click through" number is more usually quoted). The company with one of the longest track records in mobile coupon redemptions is Mobilize, who run the SHOP SCAN SAVE® mobile loyalty scheme. SHOP SCAN SAVE® has delivered mobile coupons to its members on behalf of brand owners every three weeks for the last five years and therefore delivered over a thousand campaigns. Managing director Stefan Magnusson thinks that the results need to be evaluated in context before conclusions can be drawn about mobile coupons. "The success of any coupon campaign is strongly anchored in the value of the offer it delivers to the consumer. Twenty pence off a £10 product is unlikely to produce a noticeable redemption rate at all, whereas Hoover famously created a massive over-redemption when it offered transatlantic air tickets with every new product purchase. We have seen mobile redemption rates for experimental mobile push campaigns below one percent but also above 25% and a key factor in that variation is the value of the coupon. However, the most significant factor is relevance, which can easily double the redemption rate of a campaign. Of course someone’s mobile is probably the most targeted medium to reach them through, and targeting enables relevance." Therefore IHOP’s redemption rate of ten percent is sustainable for well targeted campaigns of good offers. The Vouchercloud rate needs to be viewed from a different angle as their coupons need to be requested, or pulled, by the consumer. Moreover, the deal available is shown to the consumer before she requests it, so she knows upfront what’s on offer. Therefore fewer coupons are distributed, but the ones that are have been qualified as interesting by the recipient themselves and are therefore more likely to be used. "We have run Pull campaigns with 100% redemption rates and that’s not as staggering as it sounds. Why would you make the effort to fetch a coupon if you weren’t going to use it?" says Magnusson. This point highlights the second strength of mobile as a coupon delivery medium: convenience. Because it is easy to use the Vouchercloud application to fetch offers on nearby items that you are interested in, there is a high tendency to use the vouchers it provides. Everything else being equal, therefore, it seems that mobile couponing will consistently deliver higher redemption rates for two reasons. Firstly, the phone is a very targetable medium, which means that segmentation can be very granular and start incorporating both time and location elements. Secondly, it is convenient for consumers to receive vouchers to their mobile, which results in a greater tendency to use them. However, coupon redemption rates should not be seen as an end in its self as redemption rates on its own doesn’t drive profitability for a retailer. Profitability is driven by ongoing customer loyalty and engagement. For these smarter applications than one-off coupon delivery is required. Previous Articles: |
