• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, October 15, 2015

According to The New Mobile Mantra, a study from Millward Brown reported by Adotasexamining consumer mobile device use vis-à-vis applications (apps) versus browsers, 61% of consumers access their browser at least once a day, averaging 31 minutes of engagement.

To better understand the consumer mobile experience and its implications for marketers, Millward Brown Digital examined the drivers of mobile app and browser preference in media consumption and shopping behavior within the travel, financial services, telecom, and consumer electronics categories.

Millward Brown Digital describes the study as “… exploring how brands can use mobile to acquire and engage consumers, and ultimately elevate their mobile experience to get mobile right…

More key findings from the study include:

• Of the 30 most-visited mobile properties, browser and app visitation is nearly identical, with 59% of total unique visitors visiting via browser, and 60% visiting via app
• While most consumers have between 40 and 70 apps installed on their devices, most use only six apps or fewer per day.
• Engaging with news, consumers rely on both apps and browsers, with the exception of Sports and Business categories, where app preference is likely driven by high publisher brand loyalty

The study found that the task highly influences whether consumers use an app or browser:

• Research and purchase activities favor browser use. When a consumer plans to compare brands or conduct broad research, the browser emerges as the vehicle of choice.
• For many post-purchase servicing activities (such as banking or wireless account management), the consumer is already committed to a specific brand and therefore uses the app created to optimize that engagement.

Margaret Hung, Senior Vice President, Solutions at Millward Brown Digital, says… having a clear picture of how consumers are using mobile ensures they can effectively engage consumers today, while continuing to innovate in this still evolving medium…”

Over half of smartphone users have 40-70 apps installed on their devices. But a consumer’s app repertoire is limited – many use only about 4-6 apps per day.

The research found that for industries where consumers regularly engage with the brand, apps are dominant. For industries where heavy research and brand comparisons are needed to make or inform a purchase, browsers are more likely to be used.

When it comes to consuming media, smartphone users largely don’t have a strong preference between apps and browsers for consuming media, except key categories like Sports and Business (likely driven by high visitation to category apps like ESPN and WSJ).

Top Reasons for Preferring Apps for Media Consumption (% of Respondents)

• Mobile news apps are easier to navigate    50%
• Mobile apps send me notifications of real-time or breaking news    44%
• I can customize the functionality of apps to my personal preferences   35%

Top Reasons for Preferring Browsers for Media Consumption (% of Respondents)

• Can browse news on different mobile websites without having to download
• an app for each    48%
• There isn’t a specific news source that Ivisit regularly enough to download the
• app    39%
• I get better search results when I type in a search for news on a browser than when I search within an app   36%

To best understand the consumer journey, says the report, it’s important to break out shopping activities by their stage: research, purchase, and servicing. The study finds that consumers approach each task differently.

 Research and purchase activities are guided by brand commitment, says the report.When heavy research with many brand comparisons are needed, consumers will often use the browser (such as hotels or consumer electronics). When they frequent brands or retailers, they often begin with the app. For many servicing activities (such as banking or wireless account management), the consumer is already locked into a specific brand and often uses the app for brand engagement.

The Hotel Shopping Journey

When comparison shopping across hotels, says the report, most consumers prefer to research and book through their browser. Once consumers become frequent customers of one brand, apps are more likely to be used for servicing activities (such as logging into a loyalty program), although many consumers still prefer the browser for such activities.

The Consumer Electronics Shopping Journey

When shopping for consumer electronics, consumers slightly prefer to use the browser for research and purchase. This is likely due to a split between consumers who are loyal to a retailer vs. those who need to do more in-depth research in the browser first, says the report.

The Wireless Shopping Journey

When shopping for wireless plans, consumers overwhelmingly prefer to research in their browser, and then switch to apps for activities such as checking their data usage and paying their bills once they become a customer.

The Banking Shopping Journey

For online banking, consumers overwhelmingly prefer to manage accounts in their banking apps, but many would rather research in their browsers.

Concluding, the report says that consumers approach each task differently. The analyst says “… think about how consumers will approach these tasks when engaging with your brand… does that task fit best into the app or browser bucket? Looking at these high-level use cases is a great place to start… “

For more information from Millward Brown, please visit here.