Last week I had an opportunity to speak to a group of local business people at an event sponsored by Discover Burien. Burien is a small town just south of Seattle and most of the businesses were local brick and mortar shops looking for strategies to compete during this year’s shorter holiday season. My given topic was social media but when I got right down to it I should have devoted the entire thirty minute talk to mobile marketing. (Download the slides for this talk and other resources) It’s not that social media is no longer important, but when people are using social media, especially while shopping, it’s on a mobile device. Worry about mobile first, then worry about your social media. Why? Well, according to research done by the Google Shopper Marketing Agency Council and M/A/R/C Research smartphones are transforming the way people research products and shop. (Download: Mobile In-Store Research: How in-store shoppers are using mobile devices). It does not matter if a shopper ends up buying a product on an online store or they get in their car and drive down to the local store most shoppers start their research online and for the first time ever more are using a smartphone. In the USA 48% of the people use a desktop PC while 56% use a smartphone. Online research and using smartphones while shopping are now common.

If you are a local business you must now compete not only with large national “big box” stores but also online stores. This infographic lays out the top 10 reasons why your local business MUST embrace mobile marking this holiday season and beyond.

1. 90% of smartphone shoppers use their phone for pre-shopping. TWEET STAT
   Whether they are looking for driving directions, store hours or promos and coupons if a consumer has a smartphone they will use it to look up information before they shop.
2. 84% if smartphone shoppers use their devices to shop while in the store. TWEET STAT
   They may be comparing prices or doing further research on a product while they are in the store. Smartphones are mobile and people use them everywhere.
3. Almost half smartphone owners use mobile for 15 minutes or more per store visit. TWEET STAT
   They are reading product reviews, looking for coupons and comparing prices.
4. Shoppers who use mobile more spend more per store visit. TWEET STAT
   There are shoppers and there are shoppers who really like to shop and shoppers who are frequent smartphone shoppers really like to shop. They often spend up to 50% more per shopping trip than standard smartphone shoppers.
5. 33% turn to their smartphone instead of asking store employees for help. TWEET STAT
   Does the internet know more than the store clerk? More and more people are just looking the answer up online.
6. 51% of smartphone shoppers use mobile to save time. TWEET STAT
   They use their smartphones to save time, save money and to make life easier.
7. 82% use search to help research products. TWEET STAT
   Most will do a product search online before they visit the company or store’s website.
8. 73 % use search to help find where products are sold. TWEET STAT
   Most people do this while they are in the store shopping.
9. 72% use search to help make price comparisons. TWEET STAT
   Is the price of the product on the shelf a good price? The answer is just a Google search away.
10. 63% use search to help find promo offers. TWEET STAT
    Is there a coupon for the product? It would be even better if the store the shopper was standing in offered a coupon.

Download the infographic. 

TWEET INFOGRAPHIC

It’s time to embrace mobile use in your store. Improve the online experience for your customers as well as the in-store experience. Make it easy for shoppers to find your store online, get information and find promotional offers. Understand how your customers are finding you. Mobile marketing is no longer an option so have a mobile strategy for your business. What are you doing to prepare your business for mobile marketing? Sign up for a free Local Mobile Marketing Evaluation from Image Media Partners.