From the "Brick" to the Boutique: Mobile Shopping on the Rise

A study by FGI Research shows that over 30% of consumers polled shop online using mobile devices. Phones, it seems, do a lot more than help users keep in touch with friends. A bit of history shows how far mobile has come since the technology emerged.

From the Brick…

In 1984, Motorola unveiled the first cellular phone: nicknamed “the brick,” it weighed two pounds, offered a half-hour of talk time per battery charge and sold for $3,995. In twenty-six years, mobile technology has transformed at warp speed. Not only are most devices the size of matchbooks, but phones are inexpensive and readily available. Some boast a battery life of up to a week, and features like games, unlimited texts, and Internet are standard. Through texting, many companies have found a new avenue for marketing to consumers. Some users have even started to shop online –with their phones. FGI turned to SmartPanel to get insight in this trend.

Apple’s iPhone: Technology Trend, or Marketing Monster?

Smart phone technology is on the tip of everyone’s tongue this summer. On June 8, 2009 Apple kicked off their Worldwide Developers’ Conference. The conference, observed by the news media and Apple fans around the world, is a high-level forum for Apple to release new products as well as strategies for the upcoming year.

Over the past two months more than 300,000 blog posts have mentioned Apple’s iPhone in anticipation of this conference; and on the first day of the Developers’ conference, blog traffic about the iPhone increased by 250%. FGI did a study to explore the influence of these conferences, and other marketing strategies, on brand awareness. Apple must be doing something right: we found that over 90% of consumers are aware of the brand.

How Marketing Impacts Brand Awareness

Our independent study asked consumers about their awareness of smartphone brands and whether they had purchased, or intended to purchase, such a phone. Over 90% of all respondents said that they were familiar with the iPhone brand. In fact, of all ...