Monthly Archives: November 2012

Nov 29 2012

Mobile luring Christmas shoppers away from their PCs

Mobile seems to have a powerful effect on people.

A recent study from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK revealed that UK consumers have more of an emotional attachment with their mobiles than their South Korean and US counterparts, with 59 per cent of Brits claiming that ‘they couldn’t live without their handset’.

Now it seems mobile is even luring us away from out trusty PCs, with a new survey showing that Brits are slowly beginning to become less apprehensive when it comes to using their handset to buy goods. The report, which was conducted by bss digital, shows that around one in ten UK consumers who used a PC to do their Christmas shopping in 2011 are set to use their smartphone instead this year.

Consumers aged between 18 and 34-years-old, as well as those in London, were found to be the most likely to shun their PC in favour of their smartphone. A total of 19 per cent of young people said that they would switch allegiances to their handset, while 16 per cent of Londoners also revealed that they would no longer use their PC to shop and instead look and purchase gifts on their smartphone.

The study also shows that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of those in the capital will be using their phone alongside other shopping channels to buy gifts this year, making them the most tech-savvy in the UK. Just over a fifth of consumers in Scotland will do the same, as well as 20 per cent in the south west, 19 per cent in the south east and 18 per cent in Wales. In contrast, those in the north west of England were found to be the least likely to go online shopping, whether it be via their phone or desktop computer.

Conducted in partnership with Opinium, the study also urged retailers to heed the findings of the report and ensure that they have a mobile optimised-website to capitalise on consumers growing demand to shop on the go.

“Our survey found that nearly ten million people use a smartphone or tablet computer to do their Christmas shopping In today’s tough commercial climate, what company can afford to miss out on even a fraction of that business?” said James Southgate, client services director at bss digital.

“But that’s exactly what some businesses are doing by not having websites which are mobile friendly. If a website is not compatible on a handset, a competitor is just a click away.”

The report follows the publication of figures from business advisory firm Deloitte which found that smartphone shopping will directly influence £3.5 billion of retail sales this Christmas. According to the forecast, a total of £330 million worth of goods will be purchased on smartphones, as well as an additional £500 million on tablets.

However, smartphones are set to influence a further £3.2 billion worth of purchases, as consumers conduct research and compare prices on their mobiles.

Dynmark is the power behind global cloud mobile messaging and mobile marketing. We help organisations from SME through to global enterprise, to leverage the power of messaging as a business communication tool, for marketing or operational uses. Read more about Dynmark here.

Nov 28 2012

Thanksgiving trumps Black Friday in mobile shopping stakes

Black Friday…It sounds rather ominous, with those not in the know probably thinking it refers to a terrible day in history. However, it is merely the name given to the Friday following Thanksgiving which sees US retailers slash their prices to kick off the Christmas sales.

A survey from the National Retail Federation estimated that 147 million people would go shopping in physical stores between last Friday and Sunday, although more and more people are opting to buy goods online and on the move.

Although Black Friday is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year in the US, IBM’s Digital Analytics Benchmark revealed that mobile shoppers made more purchases on Thanksgiving than on the following day.

The report shows that 18 per cent of all online sales on Thanksgiving were made via a mobile device this year, while just 16.3 per cent of all online sales on Black Friday were made on the move, although this represented a massive increase from the 9.8 per cent recorded in 2011.

Black Friday also saw the biggest increase in online activity, surging 20.7 per cent over the last 12 months as more people opted to avoid the queues and shop from home. Online sales on Thanksgiving also grew, albeit by a more modest 17.4 per cent.

IBM’s study also showed how mobile devices are becoming a bigger part of consumer’s transaction journey, with nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of shoppers opting to use a smartphone or tablet computer to visit a retailer’s site on Black Friday, up from 14.3 per cent in 2011. A similar proportion relied on their mobile device to find out more info about products on Thanksgiving.

Over half (58 per cent) of survey respondents revealed that they used their smartphones to find cheap deals, while 41 per cent of tablet owners hunted for bargains on their device. Despite this, more traffic was generated by the iPad than any other mobile device. Overall, Apple’s device accounted for 88.3 per cent of tablet traffic, while the Nook held 3.1 per cent and the Amazon Kindle had 2.4 per cent.

“The big winners were chief marketing officers who used technology to deliver customer experiences that not only connected shoppers with personalised deals but did so at the right touchpoint and at precisely the right time and place, whether on their couch or the store floor,” said Jay Henderson, strategy director, IBM Smarter Commerce.

Despite figures showing Thanksgiving was a bigger mobile shopping day overall than Black Friday, the likes of eBay and PayPal reported record levels of mobile activity. 

Online auction giant eBay revealed that the number of mobile transactions conducted in the US rose by 153 per cent on Black Friday compared to last year, with Thanksgiving Day mobile transaction volumes up 135 per cent.

PayPal experienced similarly good figures, with Black Friday its busiest mobile shopping day ever.  There was a 173 per cent rise in the number of customers using the service via their mobile on November 23rd 2012 compared to the previous year.

Dynmark has over 10 years’ worth of experience working closely with global enterprises in the retail industry right through to SMEs. This experience of large and small businesses has allowed us to create tailored solutions for retail companies. With this proven experience in the industry we are sure that we can help you make the most of your SMS communications. Read more about Dynmark’s retail experience here.

Nov 27 2012

Mobile helping to bring in younger customers, says Ladbrokes

Having first been established in 1886 by Messrs Schwind and Pendleton in 1886, Ladbrokes is one of the oldest betting firms in the UK.

With a 125-year-old history, the company is proud of its heritage and still attracts a loyal customer base that has placed wagers with the company throughout their lives. However, all companies must move with the times to survive and Ladbrokes certainly has as it has expanded from traditional bricks and mortar stores into the world of online and mobile betting.

These different betting platforms have encouraged the younger generation to have a flutter, with the Ladbrokes betting app and mobile site especially popular with the under-30s.

Speaking at the Internet Advertising Bureau’s Future Proofing Your Mobile Strategy event last week, Andy Letting, head of new channels at Ladbrokes, revealed that the anonymity of mobile betting is helping to take away the perceived social stigma of gambling.

He said: “These customers aren’t the same ones who come into our shops,” quotes Mobile Marketing Magazine.

“I think sports betting is becoming a bit more socially acceptable, and people are doing that on mobile because its personal, and because it’s private – no one else needs to knows what they’re doing – plus the convenience of it.”

With mobile playing such a key role in bringing down the average age of customers, Ladbrokes is prompting customers to use the channel at every opportunity.

Anyone who has watched a football match over the last few months will have undoubtedly seen the TV advert featuring Soccer Saturday star Chris Kamara being told by an over-excited old man about the benefits of using the Ladbrokes app to bet in-play.

“Mobile has touched literally everything we’ve done, whether it’s TV ads to push downloads of our app, or working to improve the customer experience for mobile users,” Mr Letting added.

“It’s not all necessarily pointing at mobile, but mobile is always there, so people know we’ve got an app, for example. The key is tying up your advertising with what you want customers to do on the app.”

Mr Letting added that apps are the best way for betting firms to move into the mobile sphere, although the firm has also heavily invested in Google sponsored links to help bring in more mobile customers as such links will take up the majority of the screen – making them almost impossible to ignore.

As Ladbrokes has its history rooted in physical shops, Mr Letting admits that the firm has been somewhat slow in moving over to digital.

“Digital as a whole has been a bit of an afterthought, as it all accelerates, and we’ve just been trying to keep up,” he said.

“By comparison, look at Paddy Power, which has been primarily digital and is now starting to increase its retail presence. We’ve gone the other way, and so we’re perhaps not as agile as we’d like to be. However, being in such a fiercely competitive market actually makes it easier to get on board with mobile, because we look at our competitors, and see how much they’re spending.”

Looking to the future, Ladbrokes is set on using Near Field Communication technology to allow its customers to pay with their phones, while the firm is also looking to make more personalised apps.

Dynmark helps gaming companies engage customers through fully automated SMS communications; from welcome and activation to in-play bets and service messages. With proven experience integrating with gaming platforms such as Playtech, Dynmark has been providing SMS messaging and services to the gaming industry since 2006. Read more about Dynmark’s gaming experience here.

Nov 27 2012

Two thirds of British mobile phone users have received spam texts

We have all received them. You are waiting for a text from a friend and your screen lights up. However, it is not the SMS you have been waiting for. Instead, you are being ‘congratulated’ that you are now able to claim £3,659 for that accident you had years ago. The only thing stopping you from spending the money in your head is the small matter that you never had an accident.

It’s a classic ploy from firms looking to increase their mobile database and it appears that many people up and down the UK have been affected by it. A new report has found that nearly two thirds of British mobile phone users have received spam texts but the majority are unaware how to deal with them.

The survey of 1,164 UK adults aged 16 and over found that 64 per cent of texters in the UK have received an unsolicited SMS message, with respondents shown to have different responses to these texts.

Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of British mobile phone users would ignore a spam text, with just ten per cent actually taking the correct action by reporting spam to their network operator. Furthermore, 31 per cent of respondents would text STOP in an attempt to prevent further texts being sent.  However, while this response may help to stop text alerts that the recipient has legitimately signed up to, it has the opposite effect on spam texts as it merely confirms that the number is active – prompting the spammer to send yet more texts.

The report, which was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Cloudmark, urges mobile phone owners to forward spam texts to their carrier to the shortcode ’7726′. The number spells out the word SPAM on a keypad, with Vodafone and Three customers encouraged to text their messages to 87726 and 37726 respectively.

Cloudmark’s chief technology officer Neil Cook, claimed that the survey highlights a “remarkable” lack of awareness in the UK about the threat of mobile spam.

He said: “It is a vicious circle that needs to be broken as the spammers that run these campaigns are making a living from duping UK mobile texters and selling data to fellow spammers.

“More often than not, the snippets of personal data a mobile texter offers in the hope to ‘win’ or ‘claim’ a prize is being used by very targeted third-parties to send even more spam. These findings must act as a rallying cry to raise awareness of the 7726 Spam Reporting Service and public participation is key to its success and effectiveness.”

Mobile phone networks in the UK collect all the spam reports they receive from their customers, with many carriers opting to subscribe to the GSMA’s Spam Reporting Service powered by Cloudmark. This service provides details of the numbers of those who send spam text messages, allowing networks to block them

“Since the Spam Reporting Service launched in the UK in February 2011, Cloudmark have seen at least a tenfold increase in spam reports to the service in the UK,” Mr Cook added.

“There is, however, clearly work to be done as the greater the volume of reports submitted to 7726, the greater impact it can have in preventing spammers from targeting UK consumers and attempting to extort money from them.”

Dynmark is the power behind global cloud mobile messaging and mobile marketing. We help organisations from SME through to global enterprise, to leverage the power of messaging as a business communication tool, for marketing or operational uses. Read more about Dynmark here.

Nov 27 2012

Report: Over two-thirds of Brits expect mobile usage to surge by 2015

Over two-thirds of Britons expect their mobile usage to surge rapidly over the next three years, a new report has found.

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK conducted the research to determine how consumers in the UK, US and South Korea will use technology in the near future.

The study of 2,000 consumers found that UK consumers have the deepest emotional attachment with their mobiles, with 59 per cent of Brits claiming that ‘they couldn’t live without their handset’. In comparison, just 53 per cent of people in the US and 31 per cent in South Korea expressed similarly strong feelings towards their mobile. This could go some way to explaining why 69 per cent of UK respondents expect to use their phone more by 2015.

A total of 62 per cent UK consumers also revealed that they use their phone more to surf the web than make calls, although South Koreans were found to be the most likely to access the mobile web on a daily basis.

Those from South Korea, a country renowned for being technology advanced, also appeared to place higher demands on their mobile device, with just a quarter of respondents saying that they were satisfied with their phone. Us Brits appear to be less critical, with 51 per cent claiming that they were satisfied with their smartphones, although the proliferation of such devices could lead to us becoming increasingly picky over our choice of handset.

Andrew Crysell, Crowd DNA’s managing director, said: “The IAB presented us with a great opportunity to produce a striking piece of research work – one which clearly demonstrates that mobile, remaining a device that we all have very strong personal connections with, is viewed as increasingly powerful by consumers.

“People are demanding more and more from their mobiles and tablets. The pressure is definitely on brands and media owners to really deliver in this area, and this research provides valuable pointers.”

The survey, which was carried out in partnership with research agency Crowd DNA, also showed that tablet usage and penetration was higher in the UK than in the US or South Korea.  Brits were also more emotionally attached to their tablet than respondents from other countries.

Alex Kozloff, IAB’s senior mobile manager, said: “It surprised us to see that the UK was actually leading the way in tablet usage out of the countries we surveyed. This is further proof that advertisers and publishers must make mobile and tablets an integral part of their strategy.”

As part of the research, consumers were also asked to rank a range of mobile technologies depending on how much they appealed to them. There were three very clear winners from the survey, with consumers expressing a desire to see the roll out of mobile wallets, mobile optimised websites and cloud based storage solutions.  In fact, 74 per cent of UK respondents felt that the mobile wallet was an appealing new concept, though the majority felt that the other two technologies are more likely to become a reality in the near future.

Dynmark is the power behind global cloud mobile messaging and mobile marketing. We help organisations from SME through to global enterprise, to leverage the power of messaging as a business communication tool, for marketing or operational uses. Read more about Dynmark here.