“Get Smart” isn’t just that old classic television series created by Mel Brooks. It’s also what consumers now do when they’re in the market for a new smart device.
Today, it looks like the smart move is to conduct product research via a mobile phone.
“Based on an October, 2014 study conducted by YouGov for InMobi, users in the market for a new smartphone or tablet are turning to mobile phones to research potential purchases,” according to eMarketer. “Among U.S. smartphone shoppers — those who intended to purchase the smart-device type in the next three months — mobile phones were the most popular information source for researching such items, cited by 51 percent.”
Personal computers ranked second, but lagged mobile by 20 percent. Tablets came in with about 25 percent of respondents.
“Advertisers have the opportunity to reach consumers in the market for a new tablet or smartphone as they research purchases via mobile,” explained eMarketer. “Respondents were most likely to say that mobile ads for smart devices provided them with better options, introduced them to something new, or provided the best deals. More than eight in 10 respondents from each group also said smart-device mobile ads influenced their purchases.”
And what are consumers looking for? Deals and promotions, for starters. Those were the “most interesting types of mobile ads” for mobile internet users, cited by 56 percent of respondents who intended to purchase a smartphone, tablet, hybrid tablet, ereader, and/or smart wearable device in the next three months.
