Google scrutinized shopping and online habits of wireless consumers, and found that people looking for mobile devices are thoroughly researching their purchases and being influenced by video content.
Google relied on Compete’s 2 million member U.S. consumer panel and examined wireless shoppers’ online behavior for patterns in shopping and searching; looked back at online behavior of purchases before the purchase, and surveyed cell phone shoppers in November 2012 to compile data for the new Wireless Shopper Study released today.
The Internet is the top tool used for researching mobile devices, more than friends, family or stores, according to the study, and research on mobile devices tripled year-over-year. Eighty percent of wireless shoppers did research online. The average shopped conducted seven wireless-related queries, up 82% year-over-year. Actual buyers search even more, Google said: 14 wireless-related searches. And 77% of shoppers used a current smartphone to shop for a new wireless device.
Videos about devices are becoming increasingly utilized and influential.
“One of the findings that I thought was interesting is that more people are watching videos online to learn about decisions before they make a decision,” said Kyle Keogh, industry director for Google. “People in the market to purchase a mobile phone were four times more likely to watch online videos about mobile phones than last year. And these people were spending a considerable amount of time watching videos. Over a third watch 30 minutes or more of video online, and four in 10 will visit a store to check out the product after watching a video. For wireless marketers, this shows that video can be a very compelling medium to reach potential customers.”
Nearly 80% of those who saw an online video ad looked up the cell phone advertiser for more information, and 38% of buyers searched a wireless-related term within a week after viewing a cell phone video on YouTube, Google reported.
“Being present online, particularly before and after key launch events, is vital,” Keogh said. “Often marketers will wait until after the launch to start running their campaigns, but lots of research actually happens before the phone is available to purchase. This is an often-overlooked window of opportunity to provide customers with videos, images, stats and other information to help aid their research process.”
Other finding of the study include:
- 4G availability and no-contract plans were the fastest-rising considerations for shoppers when choosing a plan.
- 35% of people purchase to get the “latest and greatest” deivce, up from 25% in last year’s study. Upgrades are the biggest driver of new purchases at 42%. 19% got a new device because they got a better deal on a plan, and 17% bought because they wanted a faster or more reliable network.
- 1 in 3 smartphone purchasers choose their phone first, then choose a carrier.
- 30% of participants switched carriers, and 47% of consumers considered two or more carriers. Keogh noted that shoppers were more likely to switch carriers this year than last. That propensity to churn, he said, “means that it’s important to reach out to new prospective customers as well as retain existing ones.”
