The proliferation of mobile devices has changed the way we interact with our surroundings. We’re living in a mobile-first society, and that certainly has some impact on how marketers develop digital strategies to reach customers.
PricewaterhouseCoopers — now simply PwC — recently conducted a survey for the Interactive Advertising Bureau that indicated digital advertising in the U.S. totaled $72.5 billion in 2016. These numbers showed an increase of 21.8% compared to 2015. As expected, mobile advertising played a crucial role, accounting for 50.5% in 2016. What makes these amounts even more relevant is the fact that this was the first time that mobile has overtaken desktop spending and that digital passed TV ad spending.
Kathi Greear, Senior Paid Media Manager at Wpromote, says, “mobile is growing at a rapid pace, and it’s becoming the starting point of a consumer’s buying journey. Clients are learning that mobile marketing is a crucial part of their digital strategy. Staying with just desktop or just mobile will only will leave potential customers out.”
In fact, 80% of people now use a smartphone, while 57% use more than one type of device, according to Google. We call these people cross-device users.
Mobile Vs. Desktop
The latest Google mobile trends publication showed that one in every four users only uses a smartphone in an average day and no longer touches a desktop computer or tablet. Apps such as Snapchat have helped increase the time spent on mobile devices since phones are the only platform to engage with them. Having everything in the palm of your hand has also shifted the way people search for information. Nowadays, Google searches are happening more on smartphones than computers. With this information, it’s fair to think that marketing strategies should focus on mobile.
However, the Digital Marketing Megatrends for 2017 showed lower conversion rates on mobile for certain industries, although the breakdown traffic between smartphones and desktop is similar or even higher on mobile.
“Users tend to go to their mobile devices for initial research and sometimes complete the process of purchase,” Greear explained. “But for certain industries like hospitality, senior living, and real estate, people use their mobile devices for initial research but make the decision at their desktops.”
On any given day, mobile makes up 20-30% of hotel searches, but is only responsible for 9-15% percent of the bookings, according to Sojern’s 2017 Hotel Report. On the other side, this article from Think With Google specifies that 94% of leisure travelers switch between devices as they plan or book a trip. Think about planning your vacation soon. Are you likely to do initial research on your smartphone at work or at your child’s soccer game, but then continue the process on your desktop once you’re home?
The Takeaway
You’ve heard it before: divide and conquer. A recent study from comScore Mobile Metrix noted that mobile use is more popular in the morning, whereas laptops are utilized during the day and tablets during prime time in the evening. Stats like these emphasize the importance of a multichannel approach to advertising in addition to a responsive web design that works well on both desktop and mobile. To stay ahead of your competitors, you need to provide a satisfactory experience for both or you’ll miss out.
Is your ad strategy one-sided? Do you need help reaching more than just desktop users for your product or service? Contact the experts at Wpromote and let us develop a complete and effective digital strategy that can make you the talk of the town on mobile, desktop — and whatever the next hot trend is.