Smartphones are our constant shopping companions - helping us research, compare, and even purchase products online and in stores. We’ve already seen that smartphones are key to pre-purchase activities. With 84% of mobile shoppers now using their phones to help with shopping in physical stores, smartphones are now as commonplace in stores as shopping carts and cash registers. In “Mobile In-Store Research: How in-store shoppers are using mobile devices”, with the help of M.A.R.C. Research and the Google Shopper Council, we set out to understand mobile’s role in stores and how marketers can take advantage. We found that across the board, shoppers who use mobile more actually spend more in store, so marketers should face the mobile in-store challenge head on and own the digital shelf.

Smartphones are transforming the retail experience

Now that consumers have product details, price comparisons and reviews available instantly at their fingertips, shoppers complement what they’re seeing on store shelves with what they can find on the web. This behavior isn’t just limited to high consideration purchases like appliances and electronics. In every industry we looked at, including household items, apparel, and pet care, more than 70% of smartphone shoppers use their phones in store to help with shopping. In fact, two-thirds of baby product shoppers compare prices on their phones in-store.

So what are shoppers using their smartphones for in stores? The research showed that phones were primarily used for:

• Price comparison (53%)
• Finding offers and promotions (39%)
• Finding locations of other stores (36%)
• Finding hours (35%)

Shoppers who use mobile more, spend more in store

While many businesses might assume that smartphone use in store drives shoppers to seek better prices elsewhere and order online, we found that the opposite was true. We compared the in-store purchases of moderate and frequent smartphone users and found that basket sizes of frequent mobile shoppers were 25-50% higher. For instance, while the average appliance smartphone shoppers spends $250 per shopping trip, frequent smartphone shoppers spend $350. Marketers shouldn’t shy away from the showrooming challenge, and should instead, meet it head on.

Search is often the starting point for in-store mobile activity

While many marketers assume that smartphone shoppers use shopping apps or navigate directly to brand and retail websites while in a store, we found that 82% of smartphone shoppers use mobile search to help make purchase decisions. This represents a critical moment where businesses can win or lose customers - whether they’re navigating the aisle in your store or your competitor’s. Mobile shoppers are looking for information or savings in the key decision moments, so businesses should own the digital shelf by making sure they’re present when customers are searching and that relevant information is easy to find.

Understanding how mobile changes the retail game

For businesses, this new mobile behavior doesn’t just impact your marketing efforts, it also has clear implications for the entire business - from the products you stock on shelves to the way you train employees. For instance, 1 in 3 smartphone shoppers would rather find information using their smartphone than ask a store employee. In categories like electronics and appliances, this behavior occurs for close to 50% of smartphone shoppers.

However, understanding and embracing this new retail behavior can open up new opportunities for brands to connect with customers in key consideration moments. Some stores promote their expanded inventory online or implement a price match guarantee to retain savings-hungry shoppers. Others are putting smartphones to use with QR codes that share more information about products, or apps with store maps and real-time inventory. Whatever tactics marketers choose, it’s clear that smartphones are changing the in-store experience, and that winning the key decision moments at the physical shelves means owning the digital shelves too.

Check out the full research report to learn more or register now for a webinar on Thursday, May 16 where we’ll discuss the research and how businesses can take advantage of mobile use in stores.

Posted by: Adam Grunewald, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

This month at Mobile World Congress we unveiled some new research insights at the session Mobile Entertainment: Rise of the Digital Global Event.  

We all know that we now live in a multi-screen world and the device that people choose in a particular moment is largely based on their context: a person's location, the time of day and day of week as well as the device’s capabilities.  We were interested to see what this meant when people were attending, watching or just following a major event.  

Working with YouGov, Sparkler and Ipsos, we conducted three separate studies during the London 2012 Olympics using a combination of online diaries, surveys and network usage. This was the first Olympics where smartphones were mainstream and of course tablets were not even invented for Beijing 2008. We wanted to understand how various devices would be used by ticket-holders and armchair fans alike. Would there be any new behaviors and how would multi-screening, including TV, smartphones, tablets and computers, play-out? 

The research highlights included:

1 in 3 people followed the Olympics on multiple screensIn a typical day, 33% of people following the Olympics in the UK were doing so on more than one screen. Multi-screeners also spent more time following the Olympics: a single screen follower averaging 203 minutes per day, while the ultra-connected four screener averaged 435 minutes - typically enjoying the games at home, work and out-and-about.

Smartphones extend event engagement – in home and out of homePeople were devouring information on the Olympics across devices with 40% looking online for event results, 20% for information on athlete backgrounds and 31% for event times. When actually watching an event - whether in-person at the games or on a device elsewhere - people were hooked to their smartphones. 11% of people were following the same event - if you were watching cycling, for example, you could be checking your phone for other competitor times. 14% followed a different event, so if you were at the cycling you could be checking on the rowing results. And 10% of people were multi-tasking and looking at non-Olympics related info such as news, emails, weather or a restaurant to head to. We’ve seen how the walls in shops are now “porous” with people using their mobiles to compare prices, research products. The same can also be said of stadiums and this opens up a whole new world of opportunity for sponsors and advertisers.

The Olympics has caused people to try new things, will it leave a legacy?

50% of people watched catch-up TV online for the first time or more during the Olympics, 47% for live video. 18% visited a sponsor’s website for the first time or more often. In fact only 17% of people didn’t try anything new online.  These new behaviours may act as a catalyst for more everyday use.

The Olympics may well be seen as a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience for the UK.  But the extended and enhanced use of multiple-screens is certainly no phenomenon but a natural and continuing trend.  A trend that offers countless multi-screen opportunities for advertisers and sponsors to engage with their customers at live events - whether that’s the next football World Cup in Rio or a music festival in Glastonbury, England.

See all of our findings by downloading the full report here.

Posted By: Matt Brocklehurst, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

Today marks the debut of the new Think Insights, Google’s hub for marketing insights and inspiration for advertisers and agencies. On google.com/think, you can learn about the latest research in digital marketing, be inspired by creative brand campaigns, and find useful products and tools. You’ll also find industry-leading case studies and Google’s latest research, strategic perspectives, interviews with innovators and experts and more — all to help you make the most of the web.

In the headlining mobile story, Understanding the Full Value of Mobile, read about how sporting goods industry leader adidas worked with digital performance agency iProspect to understand how mobile drives value beyond mobile commerce, particularly in-store sales. The campaign proved that mobile brought a 680% incremental increase in ROI. While you’re visiting, scroll down to view the video case study.

Also, check out Mobile Search Moments: Understanding How Mobile Drives Conversions, in which Nielsen and Google analyzed over 6000 mobile searches and the actions that resulted, drawing connections between mobile searches and the conversions that they drive.

For mobile marketers, you can explore the Mobile Ad Types section for mobile-specific research, case studies, articles and more. Start by viewing our featured story, The Mobile Playbook, The Busy Executive's Guide to Winning with Mobile by Jason Spero, Google's Head of Global Mobile Sales & Strategy.

While you’re visiting, don’t miss the Mobile Ads product page, which contains the latest in mobile solutions to help grow your business and build brand momentum with mobile.

For those mobile marketers who want to turn “light bulb” ideas into lightning or just want to check out the best in digital marketing -- we hope that you visit often. To stay up-to-date on the latest content added to the site, please subscribe to our monthly Think Letter.

Posted by: The Think Insights Team

In this era of mobility, our smartphones are always with us, keeping us connected anytime and anywhere. With this constant connectivity, we’ve come to expect information (literally) right at our fingertips just a search away - whether it’s locating the nearest sushi restaurant or booking flights for your upcoming trip. In “Mobile Search Moments: Understanding How Mobile Drives Conversions”, we set out to understand when and why people turn to mobile search, the actions they take as a result, and how marketers can capitalize on every mobile search moment. We found that there’s an immediacy effect of mobile search, with more than half of the resulting conversions (going into a store, calling a business, or making a purchase) happening within just one hour.

Working with Nielsen, we also wanted to push the standard of mobile research. It’s traditionally been difficult to quantify mobile’s full impact on driving conversions, particularly since consumer surveys are often constrained to broad recall questions. Instead, we asked participants to log their mobile searches over two weeks in a diary smartphone app - logging more than 6,000 mobile searches in total. We followed up to ask them what actions resulted from those searches, helping us draw more precise, measurable connections between mobile searches and the conversions that they drive online and offline.

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Here are the highlights of the research:

Mobile search is both always-on and on-the-go
Mobile has traditionally been considered an out-and-about or on-the-go context, used on the bus or while in a store. While that’s certainly true, the research showed that mobile’s role is also much more than that. People turn to mobile devices throughout the day to find information because of its speed and convenience, with 77% of mobile searches happening at home or at work. What does this mean for marketers? Mobile is always-on for consumers, so marketers should make sure their mobile search strategies are reaching people in these different customer contexts.

Mobile searchers take a variety of actions... and they act quickly
We also found that three of four mobile searches trigger additional actions. These range from open-ended actions like additional research (36%) or a website visit (25%), to more concrete conversions like a store visit (17%), a purchase (17%), or a phone call (7%). On average, each mobile search triggers nearly two actions, so in order to understand the full value of mobile, marketers must evaluate the different ways that their customers convert, both online and offline, and measure accordingly.

Most interestingly, not only do mobile searchers take action - they act fast. In fact, 55% of conversions from mobile searches happen within one hour. We see this immediacy effect with mobile because not only are people potentially closer in physical proximity to a purchase, but they’re also closer to the crucial decision moments. Forty-five percent of mobile searches are conducted to help make a decision, and that number jumps to two-thirds when happening in a store. And when people use mobile search to help make a decision, they’re more likely to convert. So it’s important for marketers to be present during those searches, while also creating ads and experiences that are relevant to this immediacy.

Context is key to mobile searches
The research also showed that the types of searches people conduct on mobile are strongly tied to their specific context, like location and time of day. For instance, shopping searches are twice as likely to be done in-store. Mobile searches made in stores are a key opportunity for marketers to reach someone who’s looking to take action. And since searchers are also 55% more likely to notice ads when they’re in a store, there’s a huge opportunity for marketers to capitalize on these mobile-led moments.

Mobility continues to change the way that we search, explore and shop, and as consumer behavior comes further into focus, there are clear opportunities for marketers to take advantage. Check out all of our findings by downloading the full report here.
 
Posted by: Ben Chung, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

This past holiday season, homes were aglow with the twinkling lights of large screens (like laptops, desktops and tablets) and mobile phones alike. In our holiday consumer survey, conducted in partnership with Nielsen, we found that consumers relied on their devices more this holiday season, moving fluidly between devices based on their setting and context. 63% of consumers frequently used more than one digital device to shop for gifts this holiday season, and 67% of consumers believe that “having access to multiple devices makes it easier to shop”.

Another important finding was that more screens means more shopping. People using one device to research and shop made online and offline purchases across an average of six product categories (like electronics, apparel, auto parts, etc), while those that used two devices purchased across eight categories, and people who used all three devices shopped across an average of nine categories. 

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In many cases, consumers discovered a business on one device, for example on their smartphone while in a store, and would then engage further with that business on another device at a later time. We saw that 65% of holiday shoppers were frequently engaging in this sequential behavior throughout all of their shopping. For multi-screen shoppers, different devices fulfill specific objectives. For example, smartphones were the preferred device for contacting or navigating to a business with 71% of shoppers using a store locator on their phone, while 82% of shoppers used a larger device like PC or tablet for making online purchases.

These same multi-screen trends carried us into 2013 as people used multiple devices to make and keep new years resolutions. Looking at search query behavior around New Years, we saw an interesting twist on the classic resolution of becoming more healthy. People used their smartphones on January 1st to look up things like gym memberships, diets, or cleanses, and then the following day, searches for those same words spiked on tablets and desktop as people continued their research on these devices at home or at work. This behavior demonstrated the growing trend of using multiple devices in combination to help make everyday decisions. 

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Implications for businesses
This multi-screen consumer behavior doesn't fade away with the holiday. In fact, better understanding how people searched, shopped and seamlessly moved between multiple screens during the holiday can give us insight into this new constantly connected consumer. So what can businesses do about it?

One good answer is to think context. All these new search patterns have created new opportunities for businesses to be more relevant to people’s context. Context signals like time of day, general location, and the kind of device a person is using, provide powerful insights into what they may be looking for and where they are in the buying cycle.

Within AdWords, advertisers now have the opportunity to use enhanced campaigns, which help them reach people across all devices with smarter ads that are relevant to their intent and context. Learn more about enhanced campaigns here.

This multi-screen behavior will only continue throughout the year. As device penetration grows and multi-screen behavior becomes the norm, those businesses that evolve their marketing strategy along with it will remain the most relevant and see the greatest results.

Posted by: Adam Grunewald, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads

The 2012 campaign will be remembered as the first four screen election.  

The Internet has fundamentally transformed how voters receive information on candidates and issues. Access to political information no longer comes from one place, or one screen. That means that campaigns that adapted to this new reality - and adopted a four-screen strategy to persuade and connect with voters -  more often than not won.  The trend is clear:  those who invest in online win.  In fact, 9 of the top 11 US Senate races who spent more online with Google won on Tuesday. 

Let’s look at how the four screens worked together in the closing days of the race.

Of the four screens, mobile’s role in political campaigning grew the most from 2008.  Voters use their devices to stay up to date about key issues, look up quick answers, or find last-minute information like where to vote. Candidates who recognized these behaviors and developed mobile strategies to reach people on their smartphones were able to drive voter interaction.  Specifically, we found that as election day neared, voters turned to their mobile devices for election-related information.

• Total US Mobile searches related to finding a voting location increased by 164% from Monday to Tuesday. This trend was even more pronounced in battleground states.

• Quite a few voters leave their homes on Election Day and are still undecided. On the day of the election, throughout the US, the majority of Obama-related searches occurred on mobile devices as millions of Americans stood in line and travelled to their polling places.

Search, especially on larger screens like laptops, is an essential voter tool for fact-checking and education.   It is also a critical campaign tool for rapid-response and persuasion.  We saw campaigns and issue advocacy groups use search to respond, educate or even ‘bracket’ events in real-time.  There was a real shift toward voters using (and trusting) the Web as a fact-checker, especially around offline events like debates.  64% of voters use the Internet to verify or “fact check” a claim made by a candidate or issue group and it is clear that it is key to formulating voting decisions.  

• In Maryland, where same sex marriage legislation was passed, total searches for gay marriage increased by 482% from the same period last year.

• Since April 2011, when Romney officially entered the race, over 700,000 videos mentioning Obama or Romney have been uploaded to YouTube, and these videos account for 2.8 billion views.

Television - especially around live campaign events like debates - is a powerful catalyst to drive action on digital devices.  Savvy campaigns built presences across all screens to stay connected with voters that are driven online by TV to fact-check or research.  

• 77% of TV viewers use another device at the same time in a typical day.   (Google Multi-Screen Research)

And, finally, while tablets are still a relatively new device, they distinguished themselves as an important tool this election. The most notable role that tablets played was as a couch companion, helping voters find more information and react to the things they saw on TV. While this TV + Tablet multi-screening was the most mainstream behavior, we are also seeing a growing number of people who are turning to tablets first to consume news and find information.

• During the second Presidential Debate, energy-policy related searches on tablets spiked by 359% immediately after the question about gas prices. This shows how people reach for their tablets in response to things on TV.

Campaigns who don’t come to grips with these changing voter behaviors will have a harder time giving that victory speech on Election Night.  Campaigns who go online and develop a multi-screen approach to persuading and connecting with voters will win.  It has never been more clear that the road to victory requires a four screen strategy.

Posted by: Jennifer Gross, on behalf of the Politics & Elections Team

With the holiday season just weeks away, we sought out to understand how mobile behavior changes during national holidays throughout the year, particularly when people have a day off from work or school. What we found was a surge in activity on tablets and smartphones during these holidays, showing that when people are away from the office kicking back at home or out shopping, they increasingly turn to their smartphones and tablets nearby. More surprisingly, while we consistently saw mobile searches spike on holidays, we discovered an even more pronounced surge in mobile ad clicks, signaling that people are particularly interested in shopping and connecting with businesses.

For example, while Americans celebrated Labor Day this year with barbecues, family trips and shopping, they also often turned to their mobile devices nearby. Searches on smartphones were 7% higher compared to those on a typical Monday, and searches on tablets jumped by 25%. But perhaps more interestingly, clicks on mobile ads spiked even more dramatically in comparison to other average days. The chart below shows that on Labor Day, ad clicks on smartphones grew 9% compared to the average number of ad clicks on a typical Monday, while ad clicks on tablets jumped 39%.

This means that not only are people searching more on their mobile devices during holidays, but they’re actively looking to connect with businesses. So whether shoppers are using their free time to pick up a last-minute gift or buy holiday party supplies, this behavior presents an important opportunity for marketers to engage the mobile shopper.

We see these same mobile trends during holidays throughout the year, but find that they’re particularly pronounced on big shopping days like Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For example, while smartphone searches last Black Friday rose by 17% compared to a normal day, ad clicks on smartphones that day jumped by 61%. Likewise, while tablet searches rose by 40% last Black Friday, clicks on tablet ads shot up by more than 100%, and stayed above average in the days following.

So what does all of this mean for businesses? Quite simply, it means that with people turning to more devices during the holidays, there are more opportunities for them to find and connect with you, whether they’re at home or on the go. Here are a few things that you can do to make sure you’re ready:

1. Make sure that you have campaigns or new ad text for your holiday promotions or messages.
2. Increase your budget cap on holidays to account for additional clicks.
3. Adopt an always-on strategy to make sure your budget lasts throughout the day. Consumers are researching and shopping at any time throughout the day and you should make sure you can be found.
4. Segment your historic campaign performance by device to understand how people interact with you across different devices like smartphones and tablets, and tweak your campaigns accordingly to capitalize.
5. Expand keyword lists to include holiday-related terms and ensure you have keyword parity between your desktop and mobile campaigns so you’re reaching potential customers regardless of what device they’re using.

Posted by Ben Taggart, Mobile Analyst

Today we're sharing some search insights around the Oscars on the Think with Google site. Mobile continues to play an increasingly larger role in consumer search behavior as confirmed by the 2012 Oscars. Please see Think Insights for full information on which stars and advertisers were the big search winners in this year’s Oscar Awards, and how mobile impacted the search landscape. Mobile insights are excerpted below. 

While desktop searches still capture the lion’s share of searching during the Oscars, a closer look at Sunday’s ad-inspired searches show the prevalence of consumers using their mobile devices and tablets. These devices are generally always within arm’s reach of the consumer and therefore important players in the quest for immediate information, particularly during large-scale live events.

On-air advertisers benefitted from cross-screen behavior, as well. Queries prompted by on-air advertisements were conducted on mobile devices and tablets an average of 30% of the time -- perhaps great news for advertisers that the smartphone or tablet is taking place of the refrigerator run during commercial breaks.

This cross-media consumption behavior represents a tremendous opportunity for marketers.
While concurrent TV-PC usage is well established, new data released from Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Research reveals that  51% of Americans report using the Internet on their smartphones while watching TV. Particularly relevant for marketers is that smartphone users search on their devices in response to ads they see on TV, with 58% of users reporting this behavior.

ABC’s much hyped and highly promoted upcoming dramedy, “GCB,” illustrates this growing cross-media behavior  as consumers watched the big screen and searched on the small screen.  Searches clearly spiked the two times that ABC aired the the GCB promos during the Oscars and were more pronounced on mobile.  The ads with Broadway legend Kristin Chenoweth and Designing Women star Annie Potts had consumers reaching for their smartphones and tablets for more information. 53% of GCB searches came from mobile, with 42% from smartphones and 11% from tablet users. 


A look at the data also shows that tablets are becoming increasingly common couch companions. Searches for vacation rental specialist homeaway.com as a result of their on-air advertising show that mobile queries were split almost evenly between tablets and smartphones. The combination of a tablet’s connectivity and comfortable screen size makes it a popular choice for consumers and is an important trend to watch for savvy marketers developing cross-media strategies. 

Fame Drives Fortune

From bridesmaids to Muppets to Marilyn Monroe, the 2012 Oscars leveraged the passions of an adoring public and their thirst for more glamour, gossip, and goods. More searches through more channels by an increasingly digitally-connected audience will continue to provide new opportunities for advertisers to reach and energize consumers.
Posted by Christina Park, Product Marketing Manager, Think with Google

Yesterday we shared some topline insights into consumers’ love affair with their smartphones and why businesses must fall in love with mobile in 2012. Today we go deeper into key findings on mobile consumer behavior in six countries - USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Japan - from the new “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” research we conducted in January 2012 with Ipsos.  

Consumers love multi-tasking while using their mobile phones

• In general Americans are the biggest mobile multi-taskers, with 81% having used their smartphone while engaging with other media.
• 54% of UK smartphone users watched TV while engaging with their smartphone.
• 36% of Spaniards exhibit true multi-screen behavior as they use their smartphones while also using another internet connected device such as their computer.

This offline media consumption causes consumers to search on their smartphones

• Across most of these six markets, roughly 60% of smartphone users are searching because of an ad they’ve seen offline or in a store.
• Smartphone owners in Spain lead the way in searching as a result of seeing an offline ad. More than two-thirds (68%) search because of something they saw offline, with 62% searching as a result of something they saw on TV.
• Half of German smartphone users (49%) have searched because of something they’ve seen in a store, and one-third (34%) of French smartphone users have searched on their mobile due to an ad they’ve seen in a magazine.

More than 90% of global smartphone users are searching on mobile, making it a truly mainstream behavior

• 99% of smartphone users in Japan have used a search engine on mobile. This means that practically everyone who’s gone online on mobile has searched on their phone.
• Mobile search is a frequent activity. In most of these six countries more than 75% of smartphone Internet users search at least once a week.

Consumers Take Action After Looking for Local Information

• 92% of Americans use their smartphones to look for information about local businesses or services.
• Local information seekers take action. 81% of French smartphone users who’ve looked for local information then acted on it with a quarter (26%) having called the business and 43% having visited the business.
• Globally, 1 out 5 smartphone users in all six countries made a purchase after looking for local information, whether in-store or online.

One quarter of global smartphone Internet users have made a purchase on their smartphone

• Japan leads the way in mobile commerce with 40% of smartphone Internet users having made a purchase on their phone.  One third of Americans (34%) and approximately a quarter of those in the European countries have made a purchase.
• Mobile shoppers are frequent purchasers. Across all markets, more than 50% of those who’ve made a mobile purchase do so at least on a monthly basis. In Spain, 64% of mobile shoppers make a purchase at least monthly, with 15% purchasing on a weekly basis.

Smartphones Influence Consumer Purchase Decisions & Channels

• Nearly one in four (26%) French smartphone owners say they intentionally have their mobile with them to compare prices and get product information. And the French say they have changed their mind about purchasing something in-store (19%) or online (17%) as a result of information they gathered on their smartphone.
• Smartphone research also leads to purchases online and offline.  37% of UK smartphones Internet users have bought something online and 26% of German smartphone users have made a purchase offline in-store or over the phone after having researched something via their smartphone.

These insights into mobile consumer behavior have clear implications for businesses. The companies that make mobile central to their marketing strategies will have an advantage in engaging with the mobile consumer. Savvy advertisers should adopt integrated marketing campaigns to take advantage of consumers’ natural multi-tasking media behavior. Businesses should also develop cross-channel strategies that make use of mobile as a bridge between the online and offline world as consumers shop and look for local information.

Download the “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” report to learn more about mobile consumer behavior and smartphone usage in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Japan.

Posted by: Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

Consumers are having a love affair with their smartphones. They have become the first thing we reach for in the morning and the last thing we put down at night. How do we know? We asked them. In January, we completed our new “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” research, conducted with Ipsos, to drive a deeper understanding of how consumers use their smartphones.

Smartphone ownership has jumped globally - increasing 11% to 44% of the total population in Spain and by 7% to 38% of the total population in the US.  Smartphone owners are always using their device - in France, 90% use their mobile devices to access the web every day.  Smartphone owners are using their device everywhere - in Germany, 67% of smartphone owners use their mobile device while on public transport. Smartphone owners are not just browsing, they are taking action - in the UK, 84% of smartphone owners look for local information on their mobile and 78% take action afterwards such as calling or visiting the business.

This consumer love affair with their mobile devices is transforming how consumers connect and live their lives. It is also transforming industries, creating new opportunities and changing how businesses engage with their customers. I believe we will see significant advances in mobile this year and the companies who fall in love with mobile will be best positioned to capitalize on them. Here are my 12 predictions for the major developments we will see in mobile in 2012:

1. More than 1 billion people will use mobile devices as their primary internet access point.
2. There will be 10 days where >50% of trending search terms will be on mobile
3. Mobile’s role in driving people into stores will be proven and it will blow us away
4. “Mobile driven spend” will emerge as a big category
5. Smartphones will prove exceptional at driving a new consumer behavior
6. Tablets will take their place as the 4th screen
7. New industry standards will make mobile display easy to run
8. 5 new, mobile first companies will reach the Angry Birds level of success
9. The ROI on mobile and tablet advertising will increase as a result of the unmatched relevance of proximity
10. The intersection of mobile and social will spark a dramatic new form of engaging consumers
11. 80% of the largest 2,000 websites globally will have an HTML5 site
12. One million small businesses globally will build a mobile website

Businesses are no longer asking why do I need to go mobile. Now they are asking how do I go mobile. How can my brand find success in the mobile space? How can I maximize the relationship with my customers on mobile? The answer is to truly operationalize mobile. This year we are challenging businesses to fall in love with mobile, align their organization for mobile success, and create a mobile website.  The companies who choose to ignore their mobile customers will miss an incredible opportunity and risk getting left behind.  So get going.

Download the “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” report to learn more about smartphone usage and mobile consumer behavior in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France,  Spain and Japan.

Posted by Jason Spero, Head of Global Mobile

We know consumers love their mobile and tablet devices, but we are just beginning to develop a strong understanding of how they engage with these devices as they make their purchase decisions. To gain greater insight into this key behavior, we partnered with Ipsos during the 2011 holiday shopping season to study online shoppers. We uncovered a number of interesting consumer behaviors across desktop computers, smartphones and tablets. The powerful data we uncovered can drive best practices for advertisers at every holiday and year round.

The first key mobile insight every advertiser should know is that consumers use their smartphones at many different points in their purchase path. 41% of those who used their mobile phones to help with shopping said they made a purchase directly on their smartphone. 46% said they researched an item on their smartphone then went to a store to make their purchase. 37% said they researched an item on their smartphone then made their purchase online.

Another key mobile insight that emerged is that consumers used all three devices throughout the research process, but some activities were more popular on specific devices. Consumers who owned tablets read product reviews and looked for product information more from their tablet devices than from their desktop computer or smartphone. This is likely due to the combination of the large screen and portability of the device that enables consumers to use it more often and in more places. Consumers are carrying tablets with them to the couch, while in the kitchen, and even to bed.

Not surprisingly, more consumers used their smartphones to contact a retailer. With the natural calling ability of phones and many click-to-call phone numbers on websites and in ads, smartphones make it easy to contact retailers, whether to see if the store has the product in stock, get directions or find store hours.

While the 2011 holiday season is now firmly behind us, it’s clear that smartphones and tablets are only going to become a bigger part of the consumer shopping experience. Among consumers that used their devices to shop last year, 80% of smartphone shoppers and 70% of tablet users said they used their device more frequently this year.

To stay ahead of this shift in consumer behavior, advertisers need to make sure they have a mobile optimized site, make it easy for customers to reach them with click-to-call and deliver a seamless experience between online and offline in-store. It’s the advertisers who engage with their customers across all three devices that will have a distinct advantage in 2012.

To learn more about consumer shopping behavior across the desktop computer, smartphone and tablet and view a full report on shopper insights, go to Post Holiday Learnings for 2012.

Posted by: Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing

What were you doing on Super Bowl Sunday?  Like many of the 111 million people around the world who tuned into the game, you were probably lounging comfortably on your friend’s couch or sitting in a neighborhood bar with some buddies, holding a deliciously unhealthy snack in one hand... and your smartphone or tablet in the other.  

Multi-tasking while watching TV isn’t new, but nowadays smartphones and tablets are also becoming popular couch companions. Mobile devices have driven increases in total searches because of their always on, always-with-you nature. During the Super Bowl, 41% of Google searches in the US related to Super Bowl TV ads came from mobile devices. By looking at a selection of specific Super Bowl related queries both during the game and one week before, we found that the number of searches on these terms increased at a significant rate across all devices and was particularly high for mobile. Super Bowl ad related searches in the US rose 200% on desktop, 970% on tablets and a whopping 2700% on smartphones.

For example, when Clint Eastwood talked about “Halftime in America” in the moving Chrysler spot, viewers were increasingly reaching for their mobile devices to learn more.  Smartphone searches on his name jumped nearly 5500% during the game. Here is a look at what happened with some other popular terms on mobile devices:

Smartphone and Tablet Search Volume Increase During Super Bowl

It’s clear that multi-tasking on small screens while watching the big screen is quickly becoming the new norm.  Nielsen reported in a recent study that about 40% of tablet and smartphone users in the U.S. used their devices daily while watching TV.  They pick up their smartphones and tablets because they’re often the closest and most convenient internet-enabled devices.  

For advertisers, these big spikes in mobile search volume in response to TV ads point to the increasing importance of having an integrated mobile strategy.  Advertisers are beginning to see that mobile can deepen engagement with their brands and extend the value of their ad buy  beyond the 30 seconds on air. For example, Toyota’s ads encourage users to ‘Shazam’ the TV ad for a chance to win a new Camry. And by integrating a mobile search ad campaign with their Super Bowl TV ad, Volkswagen ensured mobile users could find and continue watching their ad during and after the game.

So what can we expect for Super Bowl XLVII?  Perhaps some party invites that specify BYOC* (*Bring your own charger).

Posted by: Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing