U.S. Digital Consumers Going Mobile
IBM recently analyzed 1Q 2012 U.S. retail industry sales and identified several important consumer buying trends in its retail online economic indicator report, which provides headlights into the state of the digital consumer marketplace.
IBM’s retail analysis revealed more online shoppers are going mobile, with sales made using mobile devices reaching 13.3 percent during the first quarter (versus 7 percent in 2011). In that period, 17.1 percent of all online shopping sessions were initiated via a mobile device, exceeding 6.1 percent during 1Q 2011.
IBM’s Viewpoint
Here’s how you can add to the conversation about IBM’s analysis of 1Q 2012 online and mobile commerce trends:
Consumers are feeling empowered, increasingly opting to shop on their mobile devices. Apple’s iPhone ranked at the top of mobile device retail traffic at 6.5 percent with Android in second at 5.9 percent and iPad third at 5.3 percent. http://ibm.co/JQqpX7
Social networks exerted more influence on brand perception and the consumer experience than print and online advertising in 1Q, and consumer sentiment indicated that their buying experience improved year over year, with a 65.8 percent positive rating. Consequently, retailers are looking to analyze social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to assess the way customers view them.
Information quality and availability, in-store integration, convenience, shipping and interaction are essential to encouraging customer affinity. Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and CIOs need to increase their focus on synchronizing marketing demand generation with supply chains to avoid lapses in product availability and prevent lost sales. http://ibm.co/IX2rvJ
What They’re Saying
Direct Marketing News spotlights IBM’s 1Q retail economic indicator report. http://bit.ly/IZQSk8
eWeek reports that IBM has expanded its customer analytics expertise with the acquisition of Tealeaf. http://bitly.com/J6FZAi
Chain Store Age explains why CMOs should pay attention to IBM’s retail analysis. http://bitly.com/Iyb1lW
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