Twitter is Growing and Growing Up

As far as social media goes, Twitter is often thought of as the 140 character domain of the younger demographic.  The latest research shows that Twitter isn’t just poised for tremendous growth – its demographic base is starting to mature.

●  Currently, there are an estimated 48.2 million Twitter users.  In the past two years Twitter use has grown by 33%

●  27% of social networkers and 15% of the total population are on Twitter

●  18-24 year olds are the dominant Twitter demographic currently

● By 2018, Twitter is estimated to grow to nearly 65 million users encompassing one-third of social networkers and 20% of the total population

● In the next 4 years Twitter growth among 35-44 years is expected to grow by 27%.  Growth is also expected among 44-55 year olds (29%), 55-64 year olds (27%) and adults 65+ (31%)

The growth in Twitter doesn’t just give your social media campaigns a larger audience to tag into, the increase in these important demos puts your message in front of groups that are traditionally better consumers and have more disposable incomes.

While social media is rapidly becoming a mobile first activity – Twitter was designed and deployed to be a mobile activity.  This gives you the opportunity to reach consumers while they
are on the go and making purchase decisions.  It also allows your customers to share your offers and their shopping experiences.  For more information on how to infuse more engagement into your marketing strategy, please contact:

Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail

Source: eMarketer

How Affluent Shoppers Use Smart Phones

Wealthy consumers were not the first group to gravitate towards mobile consumerism. Research showed that affluent shoppers enjoyed the experience of shopping and the personal service they received.  But they are now fully mobile-ly enabled.  A recently released study examines the shopping related behaviors that upper end consumers engage in with smart phones.  If you target wealthy customers, this can help you create the experiences that they enjoy.

• Nearly half of affluent shoppers researched store directions on a smart phone

• One-third looked up product information before shopping

• Roughly 30% compared prices while in store, viewed product images or looked for discounts or deals

• More than 25% compared prices before going into, viewed product information while in a store or read reviews or recommendations

• Just under one in four checked on the status of an order they placed, looked up the availability of an item or looked to see if the item was available at another retailer

• Other practices affluent shoppers participated in were reading marketing messages and watching product videos  

What Does This Mean To You?

While affluent shoppers may have money to burn, most of them don’t.
Maybe recent economic events have wealthy shoppers doing more comparison shopping and looking for the best price before buying.  These affluent shoppers may be interested in a loyalty program, but you may need to package it a little different.  While the main advantage to joining a program would be savings, other things to stress are services that could be offered.  Exclusive offers, early access to items and pre-items.  For larger more expensive items, delivery and set up is something to consider.
For more information on making developing affinities with wealthy consumers, please contact
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: Luxury Institute

Luxury Shoppers Expect Mobile Optimized Experiences

There was a time not too long ago when luxury shoppers lagged behind the general population in mcommerce adoption.  There were a variety of reasons for this, affluent consumers tended to fall into older age brackets and those consumers were in the early stages of mobile adoption. Also, affluent shoppers liked the personal service and attention from shopping in store.  New research suggests that luxury shoppers now expect retailers to be mobile-ly optimized and are active mcommerce participants.

• Over half of affluent shoppers expect the brands they shop to have a mobile site and 49% anticipate them to have a mobile app

• Over 40% think these brands should have mobile purchasing functionality and over one-third expect the mobile site to offer the same assortment of products & services as the retailer’s desktop site

•  Over a quarter of luxury shoppers own a tablet compared to roughly 16% of US web users

• Nearly 60% of digital luxury shoppers have made a mobile purchase compared to 12% of total smart phone owners

• The median age of a digital luxury shopper in the US is 37%, which is much younger than the median age of a mainstream digital shopper.  Their median age is 44

What Does This Mean To You?

If your business targets upper-end consumers, mobile is a must have.  Not having a mobile site could eliminate half of your potential target shoppers.  Not having a mcommerce option could purge 40% of them from your customer base.  This buying segment values service as well as convenience.  Things like mobile chat and mobile product videos are things that will enhance their experience and build loyalty to your business.  The fact that these shoppers are more inclined to be tablet owners also gives you more options to improve their shopping experience.  Large screen sizes and enhanced features can help you better show off everything you have to offer.  For more information on how your business can engage the luxury mobile consumer, please contact:
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; Forrester

Who Are Affluent Shoppers?

In yesterday’s post, we looked at what media affluent shoppers tend to use.  Today, we’ll look at what just who these shoppers are.  This information may help you to put together holiday strategies if you are targeting  upper-end consumers ($100,000+).

Who are affluent shoppers?

• Nearly 40% are boomers between the ages of 48
and 66. One-third are Gen Xers between the ages
of 31 and 47.

• One in five affluent adults are under 30 and less than 10% of affluent shoppers are age 67 or older

• One-third of high-end consumers live in the South and one in four live in the Western U.S.

• 22% live in the Northeast and one in five reside in the Midwest

• The vast majority, 85%, of adults with incomes of $100,000+ are Caucasian.  8% are of Hispanic origin, 7% are Asian and 6% are African-American

• Nearly 60% work full time

• Over 60% work in managerial or professional roles, 13% are C-level executives and 17% are business owners

 What Does This Mean To You?

Creating connections with this group can yield big results for your organization.  Yesterday’s post gave some insights in to the media they tend to use.  Today, we’ll take a deeper look to help you target these consumers and create relationships with them.

• 77% of affluent adults nationwide have read a newspaper or visited a newspaper website in the past week

• Affluent adults are over 80% more likely to access newspaper content through a mobile device than the general public

•They are nearly 20% more likely than the average adult to have visited a social network in the past month and almost 30% more likely to have visited using a mobile device

• Seven in 10 affluent adults used a search engine over the past 30 days

• Nearly three-quarters are texters and they are 60% more likely to have checked their email via mobile device

• 37% went online in the past month to view online videos

Print, Mobile, Social, Search and Video – these are the things that affluent shoppers are relying on heavily and are the tools that can help you garner their attention.  For more information on targeting tools to help you engage and monetize the affluent audience, please contact:
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: IPSOS Media; Mendelsohn; The 2012 Scarborough Multimarket Study, Release 1; Totally Uncorked on Marketing

Building Loyalty With Affluent Buyers

Upper end shoppers are a highly sought after commodity.  They have the resources to not only make large purchases, they are often more easily financed and value quality service. Mobile is a great way to engage affluent shoppers and create awareness of everything you have to offer.  New information is available that tells us not only how prevalent mobile devices are with high end shoppers but what they are looking for in mobile apps.

• Over half of adults with incomes of $75,000 – $100,000 own smart phones and over 20% own a tablet.  Smart phone ownership is nearly 10% higher than the general population and tablet ownership is 19% higher

• Six in 10 adults with incomes of $100,000+ are smart phone owners and 27% have tablets. These extremely affluent shoppers are 25% more likely to own a smart phone and over 40% more likely to be tablet owners

• 46% of adults with household incomes of $150,000 or higher are looking for loyalty program features from the mobile apps they download.  45% want early access to sales.

• Nearly 40% want exclusive product updates or offers for those who downloaded the app

• 36% are interested in product sneak peaks, high quality video and VIP privileges

• Over 30% want to be able to make mobile purchases and easy access to customer service

• Other things that affluent shoppers are looking for are customization based on personal preferences, peer recommendations and exclusive information

 What Does This Mean To You?

The keys to connecting with the high dollar consumer start with making them feel privileged.  They want to be able see, buy and know about products and sales before anyone else.  They also want services regular customers can’t get.  These are the same things that consumers who are more likely to be in the average income range would also appreciate.  They are also things that an overall loyalty program can achieve.  Loyalty programs also give you the ability to communicate directly with customers – and because they signed up for the program, it’s valued content to them.  You can also segment your offers with loyalty programs.  This plays into the customization that consumers are looking for. Offers that are more targeted towards the needs of consumers deliver better results.  For more information on how you can develop customer loyalty and then influence additional sales, please contact:
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: emarketer; Luxury Institute and Plastic Mobile; comScore

Who Are Tablet Owners

Yesterday’s post detailed the expected growth in tablet ownership.  Today, we’ll look at who tablet users are.  Knowing who the base of tablet users are can help you create offers that are relevant and get the results you need.

• 56% of tablet users are male

• Nearly 30% of tablet owners are age
25 to 34

• From last year to this year the biggest jump has been in the 35 to 54 segment, they increased by 8%. The percentage of users age 8 to 24 fell 8%

• Nearly 60% of tablet owners have household incomes of $50,000+.  Over 40% have household incomes of $75,000+

• 52% of consumers who plan to buy a tablet this year are female

• Nearly one in three adults who plan to buy a tablet this year are age 45+

What Does This Mean To You?

The demographics of those who are tablet users and those who plan to buy a tablet this year represents very lucrative consumer buying segment.
In Metro Orlando, adults who own or plan to buy a tablet in the next 12 months:

• 56% are male

• Nearly half are age 35 to 54

• 48% have household incomes of $75,000+

• Over four in 10 work in White-Collar occupations

• More than half have children in their household

• Over 70% are homeowners

Think about who your target audience is and the products you have to offer, then look at the consumer segments that make up tablet owners.
The amount of people that are using tablets to research purchases and buying products is huge.  That doesn’t even take into account consumers who may receive your message via email on their tablet.  For more information on how tablets can help you grow your business, please contact:
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: Center For Media Research; OPA; Frank Magid Associates

Snapshot Of A Google+ And LinkedIn Users

All this week, we’ve given provided usage statistics, demographics and other glimpses into overall social media use, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Today we’re going to look at the other two major social entities – Google+
and LinkedIn.

Google+

• There are over 90 million unique users on Google+

• The vast majority of Google+ users are male (71%)

• 44% of Google+ users describe themselves as single

• 42% of users are on the site are there to look for friends

• The top occupation among users is engineer

LinkedIn

• LinkedIn has over 150 million users

• 75% of users are there for business purposes

• Over 2 million companies have a presence on LinkedIn

• 71% of LinkedIn users have household incomes of $50,000+, more than 20% are in the $100,000+ level

• Half of LinkedIn users are college graduates

What Does This Mean To You

While these two social entities have smaller user bases, both offer your business great targeting options.  These sites are populated with well educated, high earners with good jobs.  LinkedIn is a great social pathway to expand upon any B2B marketing efforts your company maybe doing. The tight focus of these sites underscores the importance of targeting.  Making sure that your message is relevant to the audience on the sites where you might advertise is key.  The people who use these sites are also used to getting a response when they post questions.  Reputation management with these audiences is vital.
They put a lot of faith in the opinion of their peers.  For more information in successful social marketing, please contact:
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: OnlineMBA.com; Kalena Jordan, SearchEngineCollege.com; sitepronews.com

Affluent Shoppers Cutting Back

Adults on the upper-end of the spending scale are beginning to feel financially squeezed. This group used to spend indiscriminately, but is now selectively making large purchases.  A new study has been released detailing the cutbacks among high-end consumers, this information could mean changes in the way you market your goods & services.

• Nearly 40% of affluent shoppers worldwide said they were trimming their spending over the next 12 months

• The top 10% of U.S. households spend an estimated $244 billion dollars last year, that was an increase of 3%

• Nearly half of the top spenders surveyed said they were financially insecure or in trouble

• Almost 60% of Millennial or Generation Y affluent consumers are insecure about their financial futures

• 46% of Boomers felt anxious

What Does This Mean To You

While luxury stores and exclusive brands may feel the effects immediately, anyone who counts of upper-end shoppers could be affected.  The first step in engaging these shoppers and keeping them as customers is targeting.  Shot-gunning your message is not efficient in connecting with this group.  Look for vehicles that will effectively reach this group and increase your return on investment.  Also look at your message.  Stress the value of the product & how it will benefit their lives.  Just listing the features of your products & services may not be enough to draw these affluent consumers in.  For more information on targeting high-end shoppers, please contact:
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; Boston Consulting Group

Wealthy Smart Phone Owners

Affluent consumers enjoy personal service and many of them are willing to pay more for items to get top flight service.  Many wealthy smart phone owners forgo the upper crust in-store expierence for the convenience of mobile.  A new research study examined mobile purchasing and app attitudes among smart phone owners making $150,000+.

• 60% of wealthy US consumers own a smart phone, 80% of them have downloaded an app

• More than one in five make at least one mobile purchase on a weekly basis

• Nearly 30% make monthly mobile purchases

• 14% have made them in the past year

• Nearly 40% have never made a mobile purchase

The top five things affluent smart phone owners want in a luxury brand app are:

• Loyalty programs – 46%

• Early access to sales – 45%

• Exclusive updates about new products – 39%

• Exclusive offers for downloading app – 36%

• Early access or sneak peeks to new products – 36%

What Does This Mean To You

In Metro Orlando, 75% of adults with incomes of $100,000+ own smart phones.  One-third of affluent smart phone owners in the market have shopped via their device and over half have downloaded an app.  Even though this study centered on wealthy mobile users, what they are looking for in an app is almost universal.  Consumers would like to save money and want exclusive content. If you are looking to develop your own app or brand yourself through someone else’s, these are things that you should remember.  For more information on developing new revenue streams from apps, please contact:
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: Emarketer; Luxury Institute; The 2012 Scarborough Report, Release 1

Affluent Mobile Consumers

We recently had a post that talked about the growth of the mobile web and how the mobile web will have more traffic than the standard web by 2015.  The entry-level price of smart phones, cost of operation versus regular computers and increased availability of WiFi are probably the biggest reasons for the overall growth of the mobile web.  With all that being said, the affluent shopper is still very active in mcommerce.

• Over two-thirds of affluent consumers
have shopped on a mobile device

• Over 60% of affluent shoppers who shop with mobile devices have made a mobile purchase in the past year

• On average, wealthy mobile shoppers have spent an average of $628 through mcommerce

• Nearly three-quarters of mobile affluent consumers use apps at least once a day

• 80% of mobile affluent consumers have downloaded an app

What Does This Mean To You?

Even though affluent consumers prefer to make in-store purchases because of customer service, they are also strong mobile consumers.  The amount of choices and increased shopping access that mobile technology provides may reasons for this behavior.  One of the things that businesses can leverage to reach affluent mobile consumers is apps. Affluent consumers are more likely than others to download apps and their daily interaction gives you a great opportunity to connect with them.  Affluent mobile consumers are also interested in the shopping experience.  Tablets apps give users an enhanced shopping experience over smart phones and upper end consumers are more likely to own tablets.  Tablet owners are also heavy end shoppers – over 70% make purchases through their device on a weekly basis.  For more information on connecting with affluent mobile shoppers through apps and tablets, please contact:
Al Fiala
amfiala@gmail.com

Source: Mobile Commerce Daily; Luxury Institute