Commentary

Getting To Know Mobile-First Shoppers

Leading up to the biggest shopping days of the year, the big unknown remains mobile and how it will reshape the playing field.  

Most remarkable, I think, is the growing share of shoppers who actually prefer buying things on their phone. Most surprisingly, they’re not all kids!

Rather, just over half of this group -- which now represents about 14% of the online adult population -- is under the age of 35, according to new findings from digital marketing firm Resonate.

What’s more, a majority (58%) of these mobile-first shopper already have kids of their own. Also of note, they are mostly female (57%), while a third have annual household incomes in excess of $100,000. Statistically, these characteristics all index significantly higher than the average U.S. adult.

These young mobile-first moms are also more likely than average to work, as 62% are employed full time or part time, according to Resonate.

Translation? Most mobile-first shoppers are young moms who have plenty of money to spend, but not enough time in the day to do it.

Still, they’re not necessarily stressed-out moms looking for a lifeline from brands, says Pat LaPointe, EVP at Resonate. In fact, a clear majority (67%) believe they have a solid work/life balance, while a whopping 76% say family meals are important. 

Also of note, 63% of these ladies exercise frequently, and “They aren’t very price sensitive, preferring to buy things that are convenient or preferred brands,” according to LaPointe.

More importantly, these young moms are going to influence an entire generation of willing shoppers. Indeed, a significant share (32%) consider themselves to be retail influencers, which indexes at nearly three times the U.S.-adult average.

As for reaching these time-strapped shoppers, LaPointe says the key is contextualization and personalization.

Mobile phones represent an intimate, contextually relevant opportunity to engage someone in between more mass-market messaging, so shoppers expect these communications to be exceedingly relevant.

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