'Net Features : prosper mobile insights

Pinterest is Not Influencing Purchasing Decisions

Allison Howen — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:00:00 GMT

It is no secret that Pinterest has taken the Internet by storm, reaching the elevated status of a top 30 site according to Hitwise. A new study, however, reveals that the social sharing site is not actually influencing consumer purchasing decisions - at leaset not directly.

The study from Prosper Mobile Insights shows that only 13 percent of survey respondents either somewhat or strongly agree that Pinterest influences their purchasing decisions.

And although the social pin board site has gained a lot of traffic in a short period of time, receiving an average of 89 minutes of time spent on site per visitor in January alone according to comScore, it is not enough to catapult Pinterest into a top player in the mobile social shopping arena.

In fact, social shopping in general on mobile hasn’t fully taken off. According to the study, approximately 85 percent of respondents claim to look up product information on their smartphones and tablets; however only 4.7 percent of these people first visit a social media site for this information. Most respondents (43.7%) use general Internet search when browsing product information on their mobile device.

“Although social shopping is not yet prominent, mobile shopping is,” says Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights Director at BIGinsight. “General Internet searches, visiting retailer websites, and using apps to compare prices on the fly are the new norm for mobile-savvy shoppers.”

Perhaps the new iPad app and redesigned profiles that Pinterest is reportedly planning to release will spike consumer’s interest in browsing pinboards for product purchases. However, retailers and website owners can view all images that others have pinned from their website by adding their website's URL (sans the http://www.) into the second half of the Pinterest source URL. For example: http://pinterest.com/source/websitemagazine.com.

Location-based Marketing with Silverpop

Allison Howen — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:00:00 GMT

The acquisition of location-based marketing platform PlacePunch, from Web-based solution company Silverpop, will add a new dimension to the company’s Social Connect Strategy — which is designed to help marketers drive revenue by being where their customers are at all times.

Recently, location-based offers have been gaining momentum among consumers — with a location option now incorporated into Facebook, as well as a recent study from Prosper Mobile Insights that reveals 67 percent of consumers somewhat/strongly agree that location-based coupons are very useful and convenient.

Location-based marketing can increase customer loyalty, brand affinity and extend the reach of marketing messages. With PlacePunch, businesses can engage with customers through location check-ins that are incorporated into multi-channel campaigns.

Furthermore, the suite of marketing programs from PlacePunch works across all major location-based social networks, such as Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter. Some of the featured components include:

Rewards program- Delivers incentives to customers that check-in at particular locations.

Check-in Contest- Drives customer visits, brand engagement and social media buzz.

Location-based offers- Increases traffic to specific locations by automatically sending offers to nearby customers.

Check-in Messaging- Drives email opt-ins, promotes new products, and thanks customers for visiting specific locations.

Reporting and Analytics- Evaluates location-based campaigns.

Consumers Love Coupons, Merchants Reap Benefits

Allison Howen — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:35:00 GMT

Merchants are reaping benefits from the online coupons that they are marketing, according to a recent study that was conducted by Forrester Consulting.

“The Impact of Online Coupons and Promotion Codes” study was commissioned by coupon and deal marketplace WhaleShark Media. The study establishes a direct correlation between online coupons and increased consumer spending, and reveals that online coupons and promotion codes drive new business to merchants, reinforce brand image and influence the purchase cycle.

Additionally, the study illustrates that customers who use coupon websites shop more online, and also spend more than the average online shopper. Active coupon users reportedly spend over $800 more per year with e-commerce merchants than less active coupon users, and are also 74 percent more likely to try a new brand after receiving a coupon or promotion code.

Online coupons are also reducing shopping cart abandonment, which improves conversion rates and reinforces a positive brand image. Eighty-eight percent of participants claim that promo codes “close the deal” in their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, 80 percent of respondents say that coupons and promotion codes improve a company’s brand image, with 88 percent saying that they have positive feelings toward companies that offer coupons.

And according to a separate study, merchants may want to provide location-based coupons to stay ahead of an emerging trend.

A study by Prosper Mobile Insights shows that 67 percent of consumers somewhat/strongly agreed that location-based coupons are very useful and convenient.

The study shows that most participants (51.1%) prefer their coupons via email, however more than a quarter (25.6%) would like to automatically receive coupons when they are near a store. Other ways consumers like to get their coupons include manual search (32.2%), QR codes (31.9%), text or instant message (31%) and check in through social media (10.3%).

And with only 18.1 percent of respondents claiming they didn’t want to receive coupons at all, it just goes to show merchants that coupons are big business and have the capability of bringing in big business too.

Image Credit: Coupon Audit