Those are just some of the statistics found in Carlos Monteiros’ new infographic for AdWeek. The data comes from reports published by eMarketer and shows not only how mobile shopping will grow over the next four years but also how consumers’ mobile shopping preferences will shift from smartphones to tablets in the coming years.

You can see the full infographic by following the link above. Some of the key statistics include:

• In 2013, U.S. consumers will spend $38.8 billion shopping via their mobile devices. That number will rise to $108.6 billion in 2017.
• In 2013, 15% of online retail sales are taking place on mobile devices. That percentage will increase to 25% in 2017.
• By 2017, tablets will become the preferred mobile shopping device with 90% of tablet owners making mobile purchases compared to 46% of smartphone users.
• In 2017, 125 million U.S. consumers will use mobile devices to make purchases.

While it took years for consumers to gain a comfort level with online shopping via desktop computers, the adoption rate of mobile shopping is happening much faster. The proliferation of mobile devices has made it possible for anyone to purchase anything, at anytime, and anywhere. Consumers are quickly jumping on board. They’ll start with small mobile app purchases or daily deals and quickly move up to both bigger purchases and more purchases.

Research from Arbitron Mobile reports that two out of three U.K. smartphone users (66.8%) are already mobile shoppers. The study also found that 55.9% of smartphone users in the United States, 57.6% in Germany, and 52.5% in France are already mobile shoppers.

Prioritizing mobile commerce is a critical strategic imperative for every brand. Ensuring the brand and buying experience is seamless across all devices should be a top initiative in 2013 and beyond. However, the mobile environment is changing quickly, and the tablet and smartphone products and markets could look very different in four years. Developing an agile approach to mobile commerce could make a significant difference between brands that succeed and fail between now and 2017.

What do you think? Leave a comment and share your opinion below.

Image: Prepayasyougo

 1 out of 2 U.S. Online Shoppers Make Mobile Purchases in 2013

In fact, 80% of mobile device owners reported that they already engage with advertising on a daily basis in exchange for premium content or some form of virtual currency, and nearly 50% do so on a monthly basis or more frequently.

It turns out that mobile consumers are already comfortable engaging with online advertising in order to get free content, and they’re willing to accept more advertising if it means they’ll get more free content or virtual currency. When asked what kind of content mobile consumers would want to receive in exchange for viewing and engaging with advertising, the study found the following breakdown:

1. Tablet apps = 77%
2. Paperback book = 75%
3. MP3 download = 73%
4. Table app upgrade/premium content = 73%
5. Coffee = 71%
6. Smartphone app = 70%
7. Smartphone app upgrade premium content = 67%
8. Newspaper = 66%

What does this mean for brand marketers? According to Tapjoy’s “Redefining Virtual Currency” report, giving your mobile consumers opportunities to earn virtual currency by willingly engaging with advertising is a key monetization strategy. Consumers have already demonstrated their comfort-level with accepting mobile advertising in exchange for premium content and virtual currency, and they prefer accessing that premium content and other rewards by accepting mobile advertising than paying for it.

Bottom-line, mobile consumers understand that the ads they see are what gives them free content. They expect to see ads, and as long as those ads aren’t obtrusive to the mobile experience, consumers are satisfied. Don’t jump on the premium content or freemium app bandwagon. Instead, consider how advertising and virtual currency could be integrated into your brand’s mobile app to generate revenue and satisfy more customers. In-app mobile advertising can be a positive thing for consumers and brands, so don’t count it out of your app development process.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on free vs. paid mobile content and in-app advertising.

Image: Intel Free Press

 3 out of 4 Mobile Consumers Prefer Free Content with Ads Over Paid Content

Based on personal experience, the perception among corporate executives is that analysts spend their time in front of their computers doing research and constructing earnings models, interspersed with an occasional phone call and the odd trip to visit company management. Yet this is well off the mark, and its implications can have a serious effect on a company’s approach to investor relations.

I’m not aware of any academic research considering the relations between sell side analysts and corporate investor relations departments, so I am going to confine myself to a few simple calculations in order to make my points.

The first thing to consider is the number 50%. That is the percentage of time sell side analysts tell me they spend on marketing to the buy side, the investment shops that actually buy, sell and hold securities. So if your average workaholic sell side analyst is putting in 60 hours a week at their job, that means at most 50% of their time, or 30 hours, can be devoted to research on companies they follow. Consider next that the average sell side analyst covers between 10 – 15 companies. If we give the sell side the benefit of the doubt and say they cover 10 companies, that means on an average week they have 3 hours to devote to any single company. And that does not allow for any work the analyst may do on industry wide analysis and deals the investment banking department may want input on. What this means for investor relations is that sell side analysts are very time stressed.

Many companies take the position that the job of an analyst is to analyze and the company should not have to spoon feed them information about the company and the industry. In an ideal world this would be true, but the reality is that the easier you make it for the analyst to get good information, the more likely their analysis is to be accurate. This is because they often don’t have time to go out and get good information on their own.  If on average an analyst has three hours a week to produce quarterly notes, chase down buy side requests for information and talk to company management, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for incisive research and writing.

From an investor relations policy standpoint, this means that companies should think about establishing baseline disclosures, beyond what is mandated by regulation, that can help analysts understand the company and the trends it faces. By getting the basics out of the way, this will allow time strapped analysts to focus on what’s important and they have a better chance of getting it right. It’s one of those rare instances where by helping someone else out, you can also help yourself.

 Using Simple Math to Inform Your Disclosure Policy

This news comes shortly after Yahoo! CFO Ken Goldman told the audience at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom conference in Boston that his company is launching marketing campaigns directed at the 18 to 34 year old audience with a single goal — to up the Yahoo! brand’s cool factor. Interestingly, it also comes at the same time Mayer published an article on Yahoo! Yodel announcing a new partnership with Twitter that would bring relevant tweets directly into the Yahoo! news feed.

Tumblr is extremely popular among the younger demographic that Yahoo! wants to connect with. It’s also a content generation machine — a product that Yahoo! can fit seamlessly into its business model. Tumblr has yet to be fully monetized, and that is something Yahoo! surely finds attractive about a possible investment or acquisition.

The question is whether or not a Tumblr acquisition is the right move for Yahoo! Naysayers are quick to point out the company’s track record of acquiring and damaging brands (e.g., Flickr). However, people on the other side of the argument see a Tumblr acquisition as a natural fit for Yahoo! And yet another angle pundits are discussing is the large price tag for a product that gives Yahoo! more of the same — user-generated content — but doesn’t diversify the company into products that will carry it into the future. In other words, they wonder if Tumblr is too safe and suggest that Yahoo! needs to make a bolder move to thrive rather than simply survive in years to come.

What do you think of a Tumblr acquisition by Yahoo? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Josh James

 Yahoo Considering Tumblr for Acquisition

Goldman explained, “Part of it is going to be just visibility again in making ourselves cool, which we got away from for a couple of years.”

While Goldman didn’t share budgets or timing of the new marketing push, he did admit that there will be significant advertising spending across a variety of media and channels to spread the cool brand message. The question is whether or not Yahoo! can back up its claims of coolness among the 18-34 year old audience. It’s likely this audience doesn’t remember the early days of the Yahoo! brand when it was known as the main competitor to Google’s search engine. Instead, many members of this audience associate the Yahoo! brand with curated and syndicated content, low quality content provided by writers who are paid little or nothing at all, and a lot of clutter.

I want Yahoo! to succeed, but is it too soon to hype the “cool” message? Yes, the company has a young CEO in Marissa Mayer who is known for her digital product development prowess, but does her presence equate to instant coolness? Will the younger demographic make that leap?

In life and in branding, you need to earn a “cool” reputation. It doesn’t come easily, and actions speak louder than words. It’s the perfect time for Yahoo! to make some bold moves (and I don’t mean eliminating telecommuting). Many of the dominant online brands have been at the top of their respective markets for a while, and consumers are ready for the next big thing. Can Yahoo! bring it? One thing is for certain—the brand that delivers the bold new products and online experiences will be cool.

What do you think?

Image: Ilker

 Yahoo! Tries to Regain Cool Factor with Younger Audiences