If you want to know whether you should do for apps or m-web when developing your mobile commerce platform ask your customers. Adobe Scene 7 has found that of 1200 US consumers it quizzed, most tend to prefer mobile web as an experience for mobile retail, financial services and media and entertainment shopping. Only music players and maps are better as apps, say the people.
The study of 1200 US consumers measured mobile user preferences, characteristics, satisfaction levels and other experiential factors across four key consumer categories: consumer products and shopping, financial services, media and entertainment, and travel.
Within the consumer products and shopping, as well as the media and entertainment, categories, 66% of respondents cited that they prefer the mobile web for accessing content compared to 34% who cited a preference for downloadable apps. The survey also demonstrated a huge opportunity for mobile commerce, with as much as 38% of respondents saying they had not purchased anything in the consumer products and shopping category from their devices in the last six months.
“Though mobile apps continue to be extremely popular, mobile users aren’t ignoring mobile websites,” said Brad Rencher, vice president and general manager, Omniture Business Unit, Adobe. “This and other findings make it clear that companies can significantly enhance their customers’ mobile experiences and better drive mobile e-commerce revenue. With Omniture optimization technology and Adobe Scene7’s rich media platform that delivers content across multiple devices and screens, Adobe is helping customers find the right mix of mobile website functionality and mobile applications, optimized to provide the most relevant and engaging experiences and content. Our customers are finding that an optimized mobile strategy, whether it consists of a website, an app, or a combination of both, can become a tremendous competitive advantage.”
The study also found media and entertainment to be the highest-penetrated mobile category, both by number of users and time spent, with only 3% of those surveyed saying they had not interacted with media content on a mobile device in the last six months. In contrast, consumer products and shopping was the least penetrated, with the fewest number of users citing that they have purchased consumer goods from their phones. Despite their differences, media and entertainment and consumer products and shopping drew the highest percentage of satisfied mobile users out of the four categories, with 89% and 85% respectively.
The study also finds that accessing maps and directions is the leading mobile activity with 81% of respondents, followed by three media-related activities: social networking (76%), accessing local information (73%) and reading news (68%). The top mobile finance activity is reviewing bank account information (67%).
Shrink-wrapped entertainment such as CDs, games and DVDs comprise the second largest mobile purchase category, accounting for 43% of those surveyed.
Males 30 to9 years-old tend to be the most active content consumers and mobile purchasers; men outspend women, with 31% having spent $499 or more through their mobile device in the last 12 months, versus 23% of women who did so. Men also spend more time than women on financial and travel content, while more women (80%) engage with social media on their devices compared to men (70%).
