Marketing Travel to Women: Get Smart About Apps

It is becoming hard to say travel without talking about mobile devices today.  By 2014, smartphones and tablets are on track to capture nearly one in five travel dollars. And those who are marketing travel to women should take note of some of the opportunities and challenges.

Travel Decisions Made by Women

Some 80% of all travel decisions are made by women and 40% of travel is planned using a mobile device.  The tablet is the preferred device for planning travel and the smartphone is the choice for booking trips while on the go.  In fact, three-quarters (76%) of us reach for the smartphone when booking travel on the go.

Poor Mobile Experiences

So you know the drill – you are traveling and something happens to cause you to change your airline reservations.  You go to your handy app.   But you have a hard time loading the information, it gets confusing and then, you just call the airlines or the hotel or the car rental or the restaurant because it was a hassle figuring it out on that handy app.  It’s happened to me before – and apparently, lots of others.  A ResearchNow study released by Mobiquity shows the top negatives:

• 60% of smartphone owners, 52% of tablet owners found mobile travel sites slow to load
• 51% of tablet owners rated search and selection options on travel apps as complicated
• 20% of tablet owners were disappointed the apps were not integrated with their loyalty programs

Poor mobile experiences can cause travelers to take an alternative course and could result in decreased revenue for travel brands.  More than a third (35%) of connected travelers would be less likely to book again with the travel brand after a slow, confusing of non-optimized experience when research or booking travel on a mobile device.  Some of the issues in addition to slow load time are  complicated search and selection, poor navigation, not linked to loyalty programs or not designed.

Top Mobile Travel Apps

The top mobile websites mostly include airlines and travel aggregators, such as TripAdvisor and Priceline.com.  Of the 8% of iPhone users that use travel apps, the top airline apps are:

United Airlines  (1.6%)
Southwest Airlines (1.5%)
Fly Delta (1.3%)
American Airlines (1.3%)
JetBlue (0.5%)

Some of the other popular apps for travel are included in the following infographic:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/198843/travelers-expect-more-from-mobile-on-the-road.html?edition=59193#ixzz2RWRst23x

Related articles

• Travel fragmentation is extending to mobile (tnooz.com)

Marketing to Women: Mobile Advertising Yet?

Smartphones now comprise 57% of the mobile market in the United States.  By next year, there will be more mobile devices than there are people in the world and more mobile phones than desktop PCs.

With all that mobile action, why then is mobile advertising not growing as fast as smartphone adoption?  According to IAB, some 53% of agencies say they don’t have experience in mobile advertising.  And 70% say they would purchase more if clients understood it better.  Translation:  Agencies and clients need to go to school on mobile.

The Google Factor

So here’s a tip for all the late adopters:  Mobile ads work!  Or at least that’s what Google says.  Mobile ads appear to be the most effective paid method of driving page likes, and Google reports that smartphone users are unusually responsive to advertising. Forty-two percent of users click on mobile ads they like, found the Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users survey. Of those, 49 percent go on to make a purchase, while 35 percent visit the advertiser’s site, and 27 percent call the business in question.  A lot of that clicking is on local sites;  95% of people look for local info on their smartphone.

All that smartphone usage leads to smartphone shopping. While strolling the aisles, 49% of us compare prices, 44 percent read reviews of stuff while we shop, and 34 percent are using their phones to check the store’s inventory.

Gender differences in shopping:  In a new study by Millennial Media and comScore, findings show men are more likely to use phones to check product availability, compare prices, find deals or make online purchases. Women are more likely than men to use phones in stores to text or call friends about products, send pictures of products, or research product features.

Mobile-Optimized Sites and Apps Necessary

Those that will win in mobile will have sites that are responsive and won’t have roadblocks like Flash.  I was working with a client recently, and I tried to view her website on my iPad.  Because her site was built in Flash, it was not at all accessible on any Apple devices.

Right now, people spend more time on apps than mobile websites.  Tablets seem to be the online shopping tool of choice.  Important features include side-by-side product comparison, 360-degree zoom, customer ratings, and an easy checkout process are most important to shoppers.

So let’s go mobile!

Marketing to Women: In 2016 44% of Retail Sales Impacted by Web

Whether we buy online or research online, all retail is going to be impacted by online activity.  Not ten years from now, but just a couple of years from now.  How can that be, you ask, when only 5.4% of retail sales were reported as e-commerce in the fourth quarter of 2012?

Well, here’s the news bulletin.  While online retail sales are a smaller portion, many of today’s sales are web-influenced.  In fact, 70% of consumers research online before they make an in-store purchase.  And the average shopper may be using 10.4 sources of information to make a purchase decision.   Social media and mobile continue to become important  influencers in this shopping behavior.

Moms continue to be the heavy shoppers and one-third of all moms own a connected device.  Moms spend 6.1 hours per day on average on their smartphones – that’s more than magazines, TV or radio.   62% use shopping apps and 46% took action after seeing a mobile ad.  Mobile usage is growing among moms.  It’s  40% higher today than in 2009 for these mobile moms.  The statistics for moms shopping on tablets are off the charts - 97% made a purchase using their tablet in the last month.  And 46% actually want to receive information while they are in a store.

Warning to Retailers:  many retailers have been shown to be slow to adapt, and are without tablet websites or iPad sites.  When you don’t keep up, you are giving the competition the edge and giving iPad shopping startups a shot, like Pickie or Fab.com or others.

For more statistics on shopping, read more here.

Marketing to Women: Women Still Dominate Retail Shopping

A new report from Nielsen confirms that women still control the spending power in the US.  Some people estimate that we control $5-15 trillion annually.  Now, I know that saying women still dominate retail shopping is like saying that it still snows at the North Pole, but there are some shifts going on that are interesting.

The report points out that men are taking a more active role in the shopping process than they have in the past. Woo-hoo!  Between 2004 and 2012, U.S. women reduced the number of trips they made across most retail channels, while men increased their visits to all outlets except grocery and drug stores.

However women are still spending more money per trip than men in all shopping channels.  Women drive the larger stock-up or planned trips and outspend males by $14.31 per trip in supercenters and by $10.32 per trip in grocery stores.

So basically, women are still doing the majority of shopping, but the data tends to suggest that men are beginning to assume more shopping duties beyond the trip to the convenience store for beer and chips.

Talking to the female shopper is more important than ever.  So those  at Nielsen are concerned, like we are, about the emotional and rational content of marketing and advertising messages.

Women remember more and differently than men do, so talk to both her emotional and rational sides and acknowledge her attention to detail. Layering emotional decision-making opportunities with rational information will increase purchase intent and will have strong “sticking” power. According to Nielsen NeuroFocus, the female brain is programmed to maintain social harmony, so messaging should be positive and not focus on negative comparisons or associations.

In other words, women form value opinions based on both emotional and rational reasons to buy.  That’s why the Darth Vader spot for Volkswagen was a game changer.  It spoke to both men and women about the special moments of family life yet focused on a buying feature of the car.  And yes, women are the buyers of most cars too.

Marketing to Moms (and Dads): The State of the American Mom 2013

The 2013 State of the American Mom report is out – and interestingly, they actually looked at opinions of both Moms and Dads.

Here are some of the results important for marketing to moms – and dads:

Men shop around too.  An equal amount of Moms and Dads, 78% and 76% respectively, shop at more than one grocery store weekly.  Most make the extra trip for the best sale prices.

Smartphones are the tool of choice.  Almost 60% of moms have a smartphone, compared to 44% in 2011.  It is certainly the primary organizer of life.  The report shows Moms are playing games (64%), looking up stores/locations (58%) and finding nearby restaurants (50%).

Baby wants a smartphone and a laptop too!  Of course, you know children won’t even know how to turn pages in a magazine or a book.  43% of Moms report their children start using a laptop or desktop at 3 – 6 years, and 25% of Moms say that’s when they start using a phone or tablet.

What are the trends behind these facts?

Multichannel Shopping.  Consumers are challenging retailers and brands to keep up with their multichannel shopping behaviors.  Two-thirds of all shoppers regularly use more than one channel to make purchases.  While the Mom report is talking about physical grocery stores, many are shopping online, warehouse stores, farmers markets, specialty stores and grocery stores to fill their pantries.  Some 70% still use bricks and mortar stores, but 47% are online.  And all research begins online before those “reality” shopping trips.

Life on a Smartphone.  We just feel smarter with a smartphone. Nielsen says in their 2013 Mobile Consumer Report that 61% of all adults have a smartphone and 94% have some type of mobile phone. Of course, we don’t actually talk on our phones.  We send and receive an average of 764 text messages versus 164 calls sent/received on our phones.  We use our phones for a variety of activities – email, music, shopping, location services and internet browsing.

Digital Children.  Hilary DeCesare, a cyberbullying expert and CEO of kids’ social networking site Everloop, thinks in an increasingly digital world, it’s important to expose children to different technologies early so that they are prepared to adapt and thrive in more advanced professional settings. The digital expert thinks kids as young as 2 can benefit from tablet use, as long as the parent “is monitoring what [the] child is watching.”

Marketing to Women: Will Retail Stores Disappear?

Can you imagine a time when brick and mortar stores are just window shopping venues for online shoppers?  Some retail experts are prognosticating a time in the not-too-distant future when stores will become glorified showrooms because of the rise in internet commerce.

Actually, some online-only stores are actually experimenting with opening retail operations. Among those famous online names are EBay and Etsy who are testing temporary stores, while Piperlime, the Gap Inc. unit that was online-only for six years, opened a SoHo store last fall. Bonobos plans to keep opening stores, and Warby Parker, the eyeglass brand, will soon open a physical location.  These companies see these showrooms as catering to consumers who like the social nature of shopping – and need to touch and feel items before they purchase them.

Back to the experts – some say the way of the future will be smaller stores, carrying little or no inventory, with an efficient showroom model.  Consumers will see the product, make a selection and have it shipped to them the next day.  Some of these stores are testing the water now.

Today’s Showrooming and Sale Surfing

Today, showrooming refers to consumers that look at a product in store and then buy it online for a cheaper price.  A recent study found out that the top retailers at risk for showrooming (read buy it online or at another discounter) are Bed Bath & Beyond, PetSmart, ToysRUs, Best Buy and Sears.  Target seemed to do a little bit better.

Research shows that when shoppers were asked how many products they researched while in the retail store with their mobile device within the past 3 months, 80% indicated that they had researched at least 3 products with 43% had researched 5 or more products.

For all those showroomers, there are many shoppers that stay home,  start online and purchase online.

Will Brand Loyalty Survive?

According to a new study from InContact and Harris Interactive, 56% of consumers said they would be at least somewhat likely to switch brands based on customer service options, and a quarter do not feel any loyalty to any type of brand. These value shoppers are actually looking for more than price.  One of the value factors is customer service contact points and flexible timing for customer service.  Brands will need online, offline, social, and 24-hour hotlines to endear consumers.

Marketing to Women: One-third of All Women Are Single “Indies”

It’s a new day for women and there is even a new term for the group that are over 27, not married, not living with a partner, and without children.  They are called the Indies.  This group has been growing and currently include some 31 million women, about a third of all adult women.  They now surpass the number of married moms!  Time for marketers to make a mind shift!  Some say this is the most neglected segment of the population.

What happened to the nuclear family?  It has blown up!  It represented 44% of homes in 1960 and is only 22% of homes today.

Click here to see a film about Indies produced by NBCUniversal’s Integrated Media group.

Some 96% of Millennials list “being independent as their single most important life goal” and only 50% said that getting married was a priority.   They are well educated and successful.  They are 57% of undergrads, 59% of masters degree holders, and 52% of managerial positions.  And having a significant other does not define them – 77% of them are happy being single.

Adweek reported last year that young professionals “often find it’s easier to [build their networks and careers] if they don’t have obligations to others,” adds Eric Klinenberg, author and professor of sociology, public policy and media, culture and communications at New York University. Moreover, living alone, he says, gives them control: “They can work late or go out late, and they can bring home whoever they want.”

This group of “indies” should be important to marketers because they have more disposable income that other women.  They spend about $1 trillion each year.  They buy one-fifth of all homes.  They spend on cars ($22 billion which is five times more than independent men), entertainment ($20 billion), and food ($50 billion).

Marketers may find them easier to target because they over-index for television by 12% and they are multi-screen users.  They spend more time on social media and on their smartphones.  They are online seeking information and acting as advocates.  They are reading peer reviews and ratings, giving health and nutrition advice and are more likely to be the first to shop at a new store.

Marketing to Women: Just the Info, Please

Here is a great infographic on marketing to women, their habits and their importance online.   Top interest online?  Health.  Ahead of apparel, family and food.  How do they spend their time online – 18.5% of time spend with social networks.  Who dominates social networks?  Women of course; 56% of users are women.  For those who think email is dead, take note – 64% of 18-29 year olds read or send emails daily.  Search is the first place we go in the shopping process.  And mobile is the new frontier – more and more of us are getting smartphones which is synonymous with smart shopping.  Marketing to Women is understanding the online audiences, championing great content and provided useful engagement opportunities for women.

Marketing to Women: Get a Mobile Mindset for 2013

Nielsen has released a new report containing facts on how US consumers use different forms of media and devices. The information on  the top 8 activities performed on mobiles is fascinating, or at least I think so.

The top activity is texting, consuming 14.1% of our time.  Messaging (texting, email and instant messaging) compose 14.1% of our time, or one-fifth of our time on our mobile devices.  The lifeline for most of us is our texts and emails.

The second most consuming usage is social networks because we evidently all have FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), so we spend a whopping 10% of our time on social networks.  Actually dialing someone up and having a conversation only consumes about 5.5% of our time.   The other usage is consumed with browsing the internet, listening to music, using maps and our camera.  The mobile usage differs from our computer usage – which is geared to a variety of other activities.  One thing is the same – we spend a lot of time on social media.  Computer usage of social media is 20.1%, versus 10% of our mobile time.

And in terms of usage, 56% of mobile users have smartphones.  Eighty-five (85) million of us use social media apps on our smartphones, compared with 164 million have access to social media from their computers.

The bottom line is that each month, consumers are spending more time with more media, across all devices, and smart marketers need to understand the role of mobile in our daily lives.  We use mobile to stay connected, to manage our schedules, and the shop.  Some 78% of us use our smartphones to find a store, 63% check prices online and 22% comment on purchases.

Marketing to Women: Merry Mobile Christmas!

Deck the halls with boughs of deals as the shoppers start out on their annual shopping sprees.  Some 54% of mobile shoppers who have used a coupon on their device look to retailer websites for mobile coupons.  According to Nielsen’s recent survey, retailer websites are followed by deal-of-the-day websites (such as Groupon and LivingSocial), retailer apps and third party websites.The smartphones are leading the way in shopping navigation. According to Nielson, smartphone owners are dominating daily deal app usage, exceeding tablet users across all daily deal apps used. Groupon is the most widely used daily deal app among users of the apps, with 91 percent indicating that they have used the app on their smartphone and 60 percent stating they’ve used it on their tablet.  Ranking second in daily deal app usage is Living Social (48% smartphone/29% tablet), followed by Google Offers (18% smartphone/9% tablet).

According to Nielsen, 63% of the smartphone users are using their phones to check prices, compared to 56% of tablet owners.  A little more detail about the habits of smartphone mobile shoppers:   looking up a store, used by 78% in this group, using them for shopping lists (40%), pre-purchase research (63%) and using a mobile coupon (39%).

Santa’s definitely mobile this year.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/188640/mobile-shopping-beyond-the-showroom-effect.html?edition=54212#ixzz2EKbJSunl