According to a study recently released by Catalina (the POS couponing and loyalty behemoth), mobile savvy shoppers covet, in the following order:

1. coupons/deals
2. real-time coupons
3. reminders of what’s on their shopping list from their mobile shopping app

Conversely, social-network integration, a confirmation image of a receipt and a recipe planner are the least-valued functions. Catalina teamed with a third-party research firm to launch this two-phase study that looks at what shoppers truly want from a smartphone when shopping. In phase one, it examined 15 shoppers from around the country, utilizing surveys, the videotaping of a shopping trip, and brainstorming of the ideal app of the future. The data was then used to help construct an online survey that would speak more clearly to and in the language of mobile shoppers.

Phase two surveyed more than 1,000 people online who were qualified as “mobile-savvy shoppers,” essentially consumers who integrate smartphones into their lives for more than calling and texting. Three in 10 claimed to use a smartphone during some part of the shopping process for groceries or household goods. In addition, the surveyed mobile usage was a mix of basic notepad list-making on the phone to using third-party apps and mobile coupons.

Other interesting findings? 38% of respondents said they are “extremely likely” to use digital coupons in the future, and one in four respondents said they are not aware of whether or not the store they shop has an app.

The heart of the study, however, is the prioritization of 18 features and functions ranked from most valued to least valued by mobile-savvy shoppers. Catalina, however, having forgotten that big life lesson learned in kindergarten, is keeping the full list to itself but does plan to integrate the findings into a new mobile solution to be released later this year.

As a Charlotte marketing agency that specializes in retail branding and shopper marketing, birdsong gregory works with a range of clients who consider price as the core factor in consumer buying behaviors – and thus need a way to message specials and pricing without competing on price alone.

Mobile Coupons and mobile loyalty address many of the challenges that retailers face today. Mobile coupons are proven to increase cart size and conversion, and drive repeat purchases. Retailers using mobile coupons and loyalty gain a valuable edge over their competitors, and can use the power of mobile to complete with bigger retailers with local mobile promotions.

• Want to increase social media buzz around a special offer or daily deal? Let shoppers turn a $1 coupon into a $4 coupon simply by sharing it with four other people.
• Worried about mobile couponing’s redemption pitfalls? Then begin the process (in suitable markets) of retraining salespeople to handle the process and equipping stores with hardware that can recognize 2D codes on LCD displays.
• Need an effective SoLoMo strategy?
  Please give us a call, but at our Charlotte advertising agency, we try not use this short-sighted buzzword. We prefer, instead “seamless brand experience” – which is what we help our clients offer their customers. A seamless brand experience goes far beyond just “location” and factors in why someone is where they are and what they want to accomplish there, rather than just focusing on a single piece of data like location. And we prefer to take a device-agnostic approach, not focusing exclusively on mobile but whichever device a shopper happens to have near them when they want to find out what they want to find out.

Here’s a beautiful example of a brand that has managed to tie together the swirling forces of 21st century consumerism into a tightly-integrated experience that brings the universe of the Internet to real life in real time and allowing Nike to be in, and leverage the moment with their customers

charlotte marketing agency birdsong gregory