One of the most important things for mobile marketers to understand is the browsing habits of their audience. When do people most frequently use the web via their smartphone? More importantly, when are they most likely to look at promotional material and take advantage of special offers?
Though far from foolproof, click-through rates (CTRs) give a pretty good indication of when people are most likely to spend money online. Like a busy department store on a Saturday, there’s no guarantee that anyone browsing goods will buy anything, but most businesses will expect to make more sales compared to a rainy Tuesday morning when the store is empty.
Mobile users have spending patterns similar to bricks and mortar shoppers, according to recent research from AppFlood. The study analyzed around 300 million mobile ad impressions in the United States, taken between August and September 2013. The results show CTRs are 30% higher on weekends.
Click volumes are roughly the same on Saturdays and Sundays, starting at around 8am and continuing steadily until around 6pm. During the week, CTRs decrease throughout the evening, picking up again around 11pm (this is likely an indication of mobile users checking their devices before bedtime). Concurrently, desktop and laptop usage declines over the weekend, and after 5pm – when people knock off work – during the week.
So what accounts for this dip in desktop/laptop usage at evenings and weekend? After all, almost everyone has one or the other (or both) at home. One explanation is a reluctance to use the same devices that people have been staring at all day at work. Also, mobile devices are so much easier to use; if you’re sitting on the couch with your phone in front of you, why get up and turn on a computer? It’s a few more unnecessary steps between you and the information you need.
For mobile marketing purposes, we can glean much valuable information from this data. Once you understand the motivation behind web habits, you can tailor your strategy to make the most of your audience. Studying CTR patterns will help you devise a more engaging, effective marketing campaign.
So if you’re a mobile marketing strategist looking to optimize ROIs, review your company’s CTR data and start creating solutions that target your audience at the right time, on the right day and in the right way.
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