App Ads Precipitate Sales

A recent study from mobile audience media company JiWire revealed that, of the roughly 1,000 smartphone users surveyed, 52% claim they have acted on an advertisement in an app and 18% have made a purchase directly from an ad in an app in the last month. Their new report "examines device use, consumer adoption of Wi-Fi and consumer preferences for mobile content and advertising delivery."

55% of the on-the-go audience owns an app-enabled smartphone or mobile device. The top devices (and % ownership) are:

 

• iPhone 36%
• BlackBerry 27
• iPod Touch 17
• Android 7
• Windows Mobile 5
• Palm 2

 

Respondents say that advertisements on mobile devices are both welcome and effective, with 53% saying they were willing to share their location to receive more relevant advertising, and 76% said they would prefer to download a free, advertising-supported app instead of paying an upfront fee for the same app.

David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire, says "People have a completely different perception of mobile content and advertising when they're on-the-go... half of the on-the-go mobile audience say they are more likely to engage with an ad that is relevant to their current location... "

Likelihood of Ad Engagement Relevant to Current Location (% of Respondents)
Likelihood	% of Respondents
More likely	38%
Makes no difference	46%
Less likely	16%
Source: JiWire Mobile Audience Insights Report, Q1 2010

The report also found that more than 40% of those surveyed spend more than one hour per day using apps, the most popular of which is Facebook, and have an average of 22 apps on their devices.

Over 50% of this audience has engaged with advertisements on an app in the previous 30 days:

 

• 35% clicked on ad
• 27% visited advertiser's web site
• 18% made a purchase

 

The top 12 mobile applications are:

1.    Facebook

2.    Google

3.    The Weather Channel

4.    Pandora

5.    Twitter

6.    ESPN

7.    Yahoo!

8.    CNN

9.    New York Times

10. Skype

11. Flight Tracker

12. Yelp

On-The-Go Mobile Audience Top Mobile Application Categories (Q1 2010, % of Users)
Application Category	% Using
Social networking	63%
Weather	60
News & reference	60
Travel	45
Music & entertainment	36
Games	36
Utilities & productivity	31
Sport	30
Business & finance	29
Lifestyle	20
Source: JiWire Mobile Audience Insights Report, Q1 2010

An interesting take-away from the report is the finding that the iPad has had a non-trivial effect on WiFi usage, indicating that people really do want to access content on-the-go but might not want to do so with a phone or a laptop.

Key data collected by JiWire from the study:

 

• 40% spend over one hour daily using apps and have an average of 22 apps on their mobile device.
• 76% prefer free apps that have advertising over paying a fee for the same apps.
• 84% would be just as likely or more likely to engage with an ad relevant to their current location.
• 53% are willing to share their current location to receive more relevant advertising.
• 52% acted on an advertisement in an app and 18% made a purchase from an ad in an app in the last 30 days.

 

To access the full report, please visit JiWire here, or to review more of the report summary, please visit here.