Consumers still make purchases through their desktops.

As I wrote some weeks ago referencing a report by comScore, in March of this year, the number of mobile-only internet users outnumbered desktop-only users. We’re doing almost everything on mobile.

Smartphones allow us to purchase things as we go along, make reservations, check and answer e-mail, make a doctor’s appointment, and a whole host of other activities, which undoubtedly is responsible for the surpassing of desktop-only internet users.

According to a report from Gallup, “U.S. smartphone users rely on their device for a variety of everyday tasks, including connecting on social media and using email. Nevertheless, when it comes to the marketplace, 74% of U.S. adults with a smartphone say they mainly turn to their computer for making purchases online. Nearly as many also lean more on their computer (62%) than their smartphone (21%) for browsing products or comparing prices online.”

Gallup also showed that 21% of consumers spend more time on their phone to compare prices or browse for products, with only 11% making actual purchases, while 62% use their computers to compare prices/browse, and 74% making purchases.

The takeaway? Even though mobile marketing is vital, traditional website marketing is still an important factor in your marketing strategy.

Want to reach your target audience? Contact SPARKS! and we’ll help you.

On-the-go millennials use mobile for travel plans.

As we have all seen, mobile phones are perfect for today’s busy person-on-the-go. They allow us to purchase things as we go along, make reservations, check and answer e-mail, make a doctor’s appointment, and a whole host of other activities.

And while every mobile user in almost every age group and demographic does so much on a mobile phone, research from eMarketer reveals that three-quarters of millennials use mobile to make travel plans.

Although most people still use a desktop computer to research and make travel plans from the comfort of home (during breaks at the office), most people within the age group of 18 to 34 accomplish this on their mobile phones.

According to eMarketer, “nearly three-quarters of US millennial travelers had researched travel plans on both a smartphone and tablet in the past year.”

Also, “Among those loyal to one mobile device, smartphones were much more popular than tablets for planning, with respective usage rates of 62% and 46%.”

While research and planning was done on their mobile phones, when it came to actually booking their travel, these millennials switched to the traditional desktop.”Nearly nine in 10 had booked travel via a PC or laptop in the past year, vs. 46% who had used a smartphone/tablet, 35% a smartphone and 28% a tablet.” The following graph illustrates this.

What does this tell us? “Brands trying to reach millennial travelers should provide a consistent experience across screens to allow for seamless research and booking.” And this is not for travel agencies or airline companies only. Any brand in any industry ought to do this.

Mobile is huge. Old news, yes, but there are new findings on U.S. smartphone use.

Even though millions of Americans use smartphones for daily activities such as reservations, shopping, entertainment, and more, the term “going online” still brings to mind the image of someone at a desktop (or these days, maybe an iPad).

However, according to Pew Research, “nearly two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone, and 19% of Americans rely to some degree on a smartphone for accessing online services and information and for staying connected to the world around them — either because they lack broadband at home, or because they have few options for online access other than their cell phone.”

The research shows that users are using their smartphones for various reasons, also, users of different income and educational levels use their smartphones differently. “Some 13% of Americans with an annual household income of less than $30,000 per year are smartphone-dependent. Just 1% of Americans from households earning more than $75,000 per year rely on their smartphones to a similar degree for online access.” This lasted group has other means of accessing the internet, while the smartphone dependent population need smartphones for online access (as seen in the graph).

At the same time, though, “The connections to online resources that smartphones facilitate are often most tenuous for those users who rely on those connections the most.”

Research also shows that “12% of African Americans and 13% of Latinos are smartphone-dependent, compared with 4% of whites.” Also, “Lower-income smartphone owners are especially likely to use their phone during a job search. Compared with smartphone owners from households earning $75,000 or more per year, those from households earning less than $30,000 annually are nearly twice as likely to use a smartphone to look for information about a job — and more than four times as likely to use their phone to actually submit a job application.”

As well, “Young adults (85% of whom are smartphone owners) are also incorporating their mobile devices into a host of information seeking and transactional behaviors. About three-quarters of 18-29 year old smartphone owners have used their phone in the last year to get information about a health condition; about seven-in-ten have used their phone to do online banking or to look up information about job; 44% have consumed educational content on their phone; and 34% have used their phone to apply for a job.”

For older users, “Mobile news consumption is common even among older smartphone owners, who tend to use these devices for more basic activities. Four-in-ten smartphone owners ages 65 and older use their phone at least occasionally to keep up with breaking news, half use it to share information about local happenings, and one-third use it to stay abreast of events and activities in their community.”