Twice as many consumers are planning to use their mobile devices to make purchases this holiday season than last year, according to a joint national survey conducted by Sybase 365, a global leader in mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA).
The survey of 1,000 consumers found that more than half (62 percent) would be willing to make a purchase with their mobile device this holiday season if prompted by coupons, discount offers, text alerts, gift cards or loyalty points. In a similar survey conducted by Sybase 365 a year ago, only 32 percent of respondents said that mobile incentives would encourage them to make a purchase on their device.
In the absence of coupons, discount offers or other enticements, 56 percent of consumers surveyed said they would still be likely to use their mobile device for one of the following uses: to find a store location (38 percent), compare prices (34 percent), researching deals and coupons (28 percent), find a product review (27 percent) or make a purchase (22 percent).
Among the key areas where greater adoption inroads stand to be made is the availability of mobile commerce solutions from widely known, trusted channels. Asked which solution would encourage greater use of mobile payments for holiday shopping, one in four respondents (25 percent) reported that they would be more likely to make mobile payments if the solution was offered by their financial institution, while 22 percent would be persuaded by a solution such as PayPal, and 18 percent would be influenced by a solution from a credit card company.
Merchants are definitely stepping up their efforts to leverage the mobile channel, with 53 percent of respondents indicating they are aware of existing mobile campaigns from Target, Starbucks, Best Buy, Amazon.com, Apple or Groupon.