Study: Consumers Won’t Shop on Mobile Unless They Can Buy

A recent Starcom USA study dispelled some common myths surrounding mobile advertising media and consumer response to mobile ad messages, according to MediaPost.

In the study, which surveyed “light and heavy” mobile data users in four major U.S. cities, they found the following:

- Respondents said that while they are not averse to advertising on mobile devices, they do object to the lack of relevant ads–this was presumably due to how customers consider mobile devices to be more personal than, say, a television, and are willing to give up some (non-specific) personal information for relevant advertising.

- While past studies have revealed that consumers prefer not to shop via mobile because of privacy concerns, Starcom’s respondents indicate that when they are shown a user-friendly mobile retail site, they get frustrated when they can’t buy immediately using their phone.

We don’t expect anyone to prefer buying something from a 2-inch screen versus their desktop or laptop computer. But it does make sense that if you’re going to bother shopping at all, you should be able to complete the transaction once you’ve gone through all the trouble of navigating around the mobile Web.

Starcom Mobile Study Reveals Consumer Demand for Customized Messaging [MediaPost]

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