Informative up-to-date report on the Mobile Marketplace highlighting the importance business owners need to place on mobile shoppers, online presence, and local searches. ***More than 50% of All Local Searches are now done on Smartphones, iPads, or other Mobile devices***

1. TODAY’S MOBILE
MARKETPLACE AND ITS IMPACT
ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
What every local business owner needs to know about
today’s mobile shopper, the need for a mobile presence
and the importance of local search rankings.
Revisions By: Mobi Optimized Marketing
020113

2. TODAY’S MOBILE MARKETPLACE AND ITS IMPACT ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
In Brief:
It’s been apparent for some time that the mobile revolution is on.
Consumers can use mobile devises to interact with businesses
from anywhere anytime. Mobile now accounts for 12% of all global
Internet traffic, but what about the traffic to local businesses?
The mobilized shopper of today is impacting merchants, retailers
and other businesses in ways never seen before. The playing field
has definitely shifted in favor of the informed consumer who totally
Access to online expects to find what they are looking for when they want it.
information has to For the local business owner to be competitive they must be
mindful of some current consumer indicators:
be incredibly user
- 94% of Smartphone users have searched for local info
friendly for the
- 70% called a business after searching
mobile devices - 66% visited in person
of today. - 90 % of these users acted within 24 hours!
Access to online information has to be incredibly user friendly
for the mobile devices of today. Smartphone users in general
favor browsers over apps (48% vs. 26%) with iPhone users being
the most likely to use apps (40% vs. 36%). To reach the broadest
shopping base really requires both options.
App vs. Mobilized Website
Choosing a mobile app over a mobile website depends on what
the business wants to accomplish. If the goals are primarily
related to marketing or public communications, a mobile
website is almost always going to make sense as a practical
first step in your mobile outreach strategy. This is because a
mobile website has a number of inherent advantages over
apps, including broader accessibility, compatibility and cost-
effectiveness. And for the shopper’s experience it’s a must
because it’s so much easier to view and navigate.
See example on the next page.

3. GOMOBILE WHITE PAPER TODAY’S MOBILE MARKETPLACE AND ITS IMPACT ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
Apps have a significant place in the mobile marketing mix as
well and are very popular, and there are a number of specific use
For a business to be scenarios where an app will be the best choice. Generally speaking,
if a business has a good customer base, an app will help build
competitive today
brand loyalty because while using the app, the customer is not
they must show well conducting searches. This helps protect market share and
allows push notifications, etc., directly to the shopper. This is quite
in searches.
important because push notifications are read 97% of the time,
making it a powerful marketing outreach tool to your customers.
Ranking Matters
In today’s hyper-connected economy there is no reason for
consumers to be lacking information on any purchase decision.
In fact 93% of all buying decisions start with an on-line search.
For a business to be competitive today they must show well
in searches, and of course the higher the ranking the better.
According to a study by AOL, rankings have a tremendous
impact on click-through traffic.
- The first ranking position in the search results receives
42.25% of all click-through traffic
- The second position receives 11.94%
- Third position on the first page obtains 8.47%
Being on top has a distinct advantage especially for retailers
as consumers tend to have fixed amounts of budget allocated
for specific products or services and once the budget is spent,
it’s gone. That’s why, especially during holiday shopping season,
retailers recognize that being the first stop, whether online or
the first store open on Black Friday, makes a difference.

4. TODAY’S MOBILE MARKETPLACE AND ITS IMPACT ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
The Mobility Factor:
Another key fact that is impacting local merchants and
businesses is how mobile the consumer has truly become.
Searches on mobile devices have grown 5 times in the past two
Years and today, over 50% of all local searches are done on a
mobile device.
Consumers that own and use smartphones conduct local searches
nearly twice as much (61% vs. 32%) as general mobile phone
users. With 55 percent year over year growth, Smartphone
penetration has dramatically accelerated over the past two
years, signaling future increases in local searches conducted
from mobile devices.
This is good news for the local business that can rank high on
searches, as their customer is ready to buy. However there is
always a middle step that customers will take and that is to click
through to the business’s website. Once a potential customer
gets to the website they expect a positive and easy to navigate
experience. Here is what they will likely do when they get there.
- Get directions and operating hours - 74%
- Contact the store - 64%
- Find product info - 61%
- Make a purchase or order a service - 50%

5. TODAY’S MOBILE MARKETPLACE AND ITS IMPACT ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
The in-store Trends:
In 2011, the shoppers surveyed were more likely to access
the website or app of the store they were actually in than a
competitor’s website or app. This means that retailers need to
not only be concerned about how their pricing stacks up against
others’, but also about pricing consistency across their own
channels. And most importantly how positive is the experience
of navigating their own website.
One other important aspect of the mobile marketing mix is to
understand that the first impression is critical.
According to Compuware: - Over 40% of users in a 2011 survey
of 4,014 global mobile web users turned to a competitors web
site when they had a bad mobile experience
- 57 percent of mobile web users had a problem in the
past year when accessing a website and 47 percent had
a problem accessing an app on their phone;
- 46 percent of mobile web users are unlikely to return to a
website that they had trouble accessing from their phone
and 57 percent are unlikely to recommend the site;
- And 34 percent said they’d likely visit a competitor’s
mobile website instead.
In another study by management consulting firm Accenture
found that 73% of mobile-powered shoppers preferred mobile
phones to retail clerks for basic assistance.

6. TODAY’S MOBILE MARKETPLACE AND ITS IMPACT ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
Local Searches
2012 marked the first year where the majority of local searches
conducted on portal sites have shifted from specific business
searches (business name) to non-specific business searches
(category/keyword).
To use a traditional media analogy; users have shifted from
“white page” searching behavior of finding listings to more of a
yellow pages behavior of “searching and shopping” local search
resources to determine where to buy products and services.
Additionally, we observed increases in this behavior shift amongst
all local search platforms. - comScore local research study 2012
Summary
The #1 reason for The more smartphones, the more smart shoppers conducting
local mobile searches resulting in a higher demand for time-
using a mobile sensitive, on-the-go need for local business information. The
device for a local #1 reason for using a mobile device for a local business search
is because shoppers want information fast because they’re on
business search the move to buy. Mobile users have a larger opportunity to
is because shoppers purchase from a local business shortly after the search while
on-the-go and are more likely to purchase a product after searching
want information compared with PC searchers.
fast…
There continues to be excitement in the mobile consumer
they’re on the move to buy. category. Consumers search, they review, and they act,
often within a short period of time - making decisions on which
local merchants and businesses to visit based solely on what
information they found on their mobile device. There is a
tremendous upside in mobile marketing opportunities for local
businesses that can, not only have mobile presence either in a
mobile app or website, but also strive to have high rankings on
searches that guarantee they can dominate the market.

7. TODAY’S MOBILE MARKETPLACE AND ITS IMPACT ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
References
Information and research for this report were collected from
a number of different sources including the following:
The Mobile Playbook – Google
ForeSee – Mobile Satisfaction
Google and Ipsos OTX – 2011 post holiday shopping study
Comscore Dec 2012
Stat Counter August 2012
SmithGeiger and Sterling Research
– What users want most from mobile sites today
eMarketer Commerce Roundup 2012
Localeze – Local Search Study 2012
Home Service Solution – Mobile website versus Mobile App
Compuware
Accenture
About Mobi Optimized Marketing
MOM is an established consulting and development team with a
singular purpose, to get your business found, quickly and easily,
and most importantly – chosen!
Building highly affordable, custom Mobile Smartphone Apps and
Mobi Optimized Websites is our specialty.
We provide exceptional technology, training and services for
companies and individuals seeking Mobile marketing solutions that
can improve their business and lifestyle, saving time and money in the
process.
For more information go to: www.MobiOpitimizedMarketing.com