As Many As 46% of UK Consumers Now Use Mobile Devices As Their Primary Tool in Purchase Decision Making

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As the mobile user experience continues to improve, consumers are turning to the convenience of their mobile devices more frequently, whether they're at home or on the go.

NEW YORK and TORONTO (PRWEB UK) 8 July 2014

Up to 46 percent of UK consumers now use mobile devices as their primary tool for purchase decision making, while one in four use mobile devices as their exclusive shopping research tool. This is according to the 2nd Annual UK Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study released today by xAd, a leading global location ad platform, and Telmetrics, the leading call measurement technology provider. Results of the 2014 study were compiled by Nielsen from more than 2,000 UK smartphone and tablet users focused on the Retail, Insurance and Telecom categories.

xAd/Telmetrics 2014 UK Mobile Path-to-Purchase Infographic

Consumers are spending more time on mobile devices than ever, both in the home and out. In fact, 60 percent of those surveyed reported being at home the last time they accessed their smartphones, despite having a computer nearby. As consumers turn to mobile to meet their varying research needs, they are becoming more comfortable with these devices as a primary decision-making tool. Satisfaction with the information available on smartphones in particular has increased 18 percent since 2013.

"As the mobile user experience continues to improve, consumers are turning to the convenience of their mobile devices more frequently, whether they're at home or on the go," said Monica Ho, SVP of marketing at xAd. "Mobile users turn to their devices at multiple points while considering a purchase and often rely on it as their exclusive source for information. This creates a significant opportunity for brands to reach consumers, drive in-store foot traffic and ultimately influence their purchases."

With more than 75 percent of mobile shoppers making a purchase or planning to do so in the near future, mobile is clearly an important part of the purchase cycle. However, the mobile impact is not limited to on-device activity. Of those surveyed, 31 percent reported visiting a physical store during their search. In addition to general research, mobile devices are frequently being used to search for store locations and business contact info. Overall, 37 percent made purchases offline, with 20 percent of Telecom and Insurance shoppers completing purchases via phone. Retail was the most popular category for mobile purchases, with 35 percent of survey respondents making purchases via their mobile devices.

"Our study confirms that mobile is a powerful part of today's consumer purchase process and underlines the growing opportunity for advertisers to reach this ready to buy audience," said Bill Dinan, president of Telmetrics. "Advertisers that capture mobile metrics can improve their understanding of how shoppers interact with mobile devices throughout the buying cycle and empower their ad programmes to reach consumers when they are most open to influence."

In Order to Maximize Your Influence, Make it Quick
Most mobile activity happens at the beginning of the consumer's purchase process (56 percent). When first turning to their mobile devices, less than 20 percent of respondents reported to know exactly what they were looking for, making 80 percent completely open to influence. Consumers are also expecting purchase gratification more quickly than they have in the past. Nearly 50 percent reported wanting to make their purchase within a day (up 20 percent since 2013), and 30 percent are looking to make a purchase within the hour (up 52 percent since 2013).
Price is King, Followed by Store Proximity and Easy Access to Contact Info
Price continues to be the biggest purchase driver. Three out of four consumers are using their mobile devices for price comparison and 39 percent made a purchase because the product/service was the right price. Store proximity and easy access to contact info are also important factors. Over 50 percent of respondents expect to find a location within eight kilometres of their current location, underscoring the importance of accurate location data, while up to 40 percent of shoppers made phone calls to the businesses they searched.

About the Study
The xAd-Telmetrics Mobile Path to Purchase Study is the only comprehensive research report that measures what consumers report they are doing via mobile devices and captures actual preferences and behaviours. Results from the 2nd Annual UK Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study are based on data from an online survey of 2,000 UK smartphone and tablet users and actual observed consumer behaviours from Nielsen's Smartphone Analytics Panel of 6,000 Apple and Android users. More details are available at mobilepathtopurchase.com.

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Media Contacts:
Erin Lockhart
Epoch PR
408-334-5463
erin(at)epoch-pr(dot)com

Meggan Manson
Young & Associates
301-371-6995
megganm(at)yapr(dot)com

Claudia Niemandt
Portfolio Communications
020 7240 6959
claudia(dot)niemandt(at)portfoliocomms(dot)com

About xAd
xAd helps brands harness the power of accurate location data to produce measurable results from mobile advertising. Through award-winning location technology that is precise, measurable and scalable, xAds platform pinpoints target audiences by neighbourhood, across the country and around the globe at pivotal moments during the consumers’ path-to-purchase. xAd's platform drives results powered by search-enhanced targeting, ultimately yielding unparalleled performance. Founded in 2009, xAd serves more than 1.5 million national and local advertisers, while managing more than 40 billion location-verified ad requests monthly. Connect with xAd at http://www.xad.com, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Telmetrics, Inc.
Telmetrics is a leading call measurement technology company that powers digital marketers' use of calls as a cross-media advertising performance metric. For nearly 25 years, Telmetrics has delivered scalable and quality call measurement innovations that reveal the lead generation impact of direct response ad programs. As a proven global technology partner, Telmetrics helps media publishers, agencies and the leading brands in local, mobile and vertical search leverage calls for millions of SMB and national franchises' ad performance and monetization models. For more information, please visit Telmetrics.com.

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