Brand Strategy Key Findings – July/August 2012
| Email: Consumers Prefer it for both Personal and Marketing Communications | |
| Mobile Is Becoming An Indispensable Tool for Shopping | |
| Consumers Prefer to Buy From Socially Responsible Companies |
Consumers Prefer Email for Both Personal and Marketing Communications
Email is the number one direct channel in terms of daily use and consumer preference for both personal and marketing communications.
Email is thriving, thanks in large part to the channel’s familiarity, flexibility, and universality. However, one place where the preference for email has declined is in personal communication.
Email preference as a personal communications channel has dropped 21% since 2008 giving way to texting and social media, which have grown 20% and 10% respectively.
Overall email still tops both text and social media for personal communication – 45% for email to text’s 36% and social’s 13%. Permission-based marketing through email has increased 5% since 2008 with 77% of consumers preferring to receive this type of marketing communication via email.
Preferred Channel for Permission-Based Promotional Messages
(Promotional Messages From Companies Whom I Have Granted Permission to Send Me On-going Information)
Mobile is Becoming an Indispensable Tool for Shopping
Looking for product information and store locations are the top two shopping-related activities mobile shoppers do on their phones according to an On Device Research study for the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
More than a third of smartphone owners (34%) and 11% of cell phone owners have made online purchases using their mobile phones in the past year. Nearly six in 10 owners of smartphones (59%) say it is at least somewhat important to be able to make purchases using their phones.
Four in 10 smartphone owners (40%) have redeemed mobile coupons using their devices and almost three in 10 smartphone owners look for coupons at least once a month.
Why Consumers Shop Via Mobile
Consumers Prefer to Buy from Socially Responsible Companies
Companies with programs designed to “give back” to society attract two thirds (66%) of global consumers to buy their products or services and just under half (46%) say they are willing to pay extra for products and services from these companies.
The most important causes people care about are environmental stability, science and math education programs, hunger and poverty, and aid for people affected by natural disasters.
Socially conscious consumers are more likely than global consumers overall to trust ads on social networks, online video ads, banner ads and text ads on mobile phones.
Causes Socially Conscious Consumers Think Companies Should Support
Bullets
- Four in10 Americans (41%)buy clothes only when they’re on sale.
- Almost seven in 10 smartphone owners ages 18-34 (68%) check their phones at least once an hour.
- Americans are expected to spend $15 billion on tea in 2012.