Offline Media Influences Smartphone Searches, Purchases

Key U.S. findings from a recent survey on smartphone usage conducted by Ipsos, on behalf of search giant Google:

Ownership is on the rise: As of October 2012, 38% of U.S. respondents owned a smartphone, up from 31% at the start of the year.

Always connected:  76% of U.S. smartphone users report having used their phone while in a store, although the most common places of use are at home (96%) and on-the-go (83%).

Mobile as Point of Purchase: 34% of U.S. respondents have purchased a product or a service via their smartphone. Of these consumers, 29% say they do so monthly, 14% do so weekly, and 20% make purchases daily.

Users notice mobile ads: 88% of U.S. smartphone internet users say they “at least rarely notice ads” on their device; 47% have noticed an ad while on a website, 46% have noticed one while in an application, 41% while using a search engine, 27% noticed ads while watching a video, 25% on a retailer website and 20% on a video website (20%).

Offline media influences mobile search:  58% of Americans use their smartphone to do a search in response to an ad seen on TV, 57% do so thanks to an ad seen while in a shop or business, 46% are motivated to search due to an ad seen in a magazine, and 36% perform a search based on a poster viewed.

Smartphone Users Seek Local Information and Make Purchases: 92% of U.S. users use their device to access local information and 89% have taken action on local contact (visit, shop, contact, directions); One in four (25%) have made a purchase in-store based on the info they sought out and 21% have made an online purchase.

Arandell provides retailers with mobile-optimized extensions for their print catalogs. Through smartphone technology, we develop innovative and cutting edge cross-channel marketing practices that fully leverage the complementary strengths of catalog, web, mobile and in-store channels.

The Price Game

Everyone is talking price, is anyone concerned with value anymore? You can find a cheaper price but will you get a better value? Here are some things you may not be taking in to consideration -

• Color correctness – Is the merchandise in your catalog color critical? Is it being produced true to color on the printed page? If not you may be missing sales or ending up with a high return rate.
• Paper stock – Paper stock is critical to color reproduction. Yes you can save money by going with an SCA or SCB sheet or a 38# No. 5 gloss but is that going to give you an adequate representation on your product?
• On time delivery – How much is your catalog mailing going to be worth if you miss the in home date by a week? This may not be critical for all catalogers but for a retailer with a weekend sale or a Holiday catalog during the Holiday season it is.

Do you want to have a catalog that saves you money or would you like one that MAKES you money?  I am just asking.

Don’t toss print campaigns out with the spring cleaning

It’s springtime, and maybe you’re thinking “out with the old, in with the new.” Something to remember: print campaigns are NOT out. Marketers continue to invest money into print because it works.

When it comes to print campaigns, consider re-evaluating how you choose the right list to mail to. Doing so could help make your next direct mail campaign golden.

So maybe now you’re thinking, “How do I know which is the right list?”

Arandell can help. Click Here to learn more.

Will we ever go paper-less?

Since electronic devices play such a big part in our daily lives, we wanted to know how many of you think the U.S. will one day be paper-less.

Here’s what what the polling found: Most of us think it’ll never happen.

Our survey results: 56% of Americans said they don’t think the U.S. will ever be a paper-less society, while 20% said yes, one day we’ll all go paper-less.  Twenty-four percent of Americans were undecided or had no opinion on the question.

What do you think?

Save the U.S. Postal Service by Writing More Letters

The art of letter writing has gone by the wayside in this modern age. As a result, the U.S. Postal Service is now in peril. Let’s do something about it!

Click Here

Postmaster General Says It’s Time to Embrace Change

The Postmaster General of the United States, Patrick Donahoe, presented a way forward for a U.S. Postal Service that faces several challenges. He began by making it clear that the challenges ahead are not just a Postal Service problem, but an industry problem that affects everyone employed by catalog mailing companies and companies that serve them.

The USPS has found $19 billion in savings since 200, when they first identified that Americans were drastically changing their mailing habits (using e-mail more and paying bills online being just two examples). As the USPS changes to address the new realities, the PMG stresses that the organization is committed to retaining a high level of service and not hitting anyone with any big surprises. “There will be no here today, closed tomorrow”, he said. “Rather, things will proceed in an orderly fashion.” In fact, some of the fiscal goals of the USPS will be met through attrition and other predictable events over the next few years.