Captivating Connections.

what role does your mobile phone play in your shopping experience?

We know mCommerce is making moves and smartphones are changing the shopping landscape, both in-store and online.

How does your mobile phone impact your experience?

Just thinking about my last few shopping trips, I know I used my iPhone to:

- Find a store's cross streets

- Check in to the store via Foursquare

- Snap a photo of a shirt I wanted to buy my friend and emailed it to her asking if she liked it

- Call my dad and ask if he needed something while I was there

- Checked online to see if the store sold a size online they didn't have in the store

...and I know I could have used it for a whole lot more (coupons, etc.).

As Pew American & Internet Life Project has uncovered, I'm not alone; "more than half (52%) of adult cell phone owners used their devices while in a store to get help with purchasing decisions."

So what are they doing?

"38% used their phone to call a friend for advice while in a store, 24% looked up product reviews online in-store, and one-quarter checked pricing online to see if they could get a better deal elsewhere.

Furthermore, one in five 'mobile price-matchers' made their most recent purchase from an online store rather than a physical location. More than one-third (37%) decided not to buy the product at all, 35% bought it at that store and 8% got it at another store.

That last finding should not do much to diminish retailers’ fears that shoppers are increasingly using their brick-and-mortar outlets as showrooms for subsequent purchases at an online or offline competitor."

what was your favorite new product of 2011?

There's so many products launching every year sometimes it's difficult to keep track. However, like anything in life, the best tend to rise to the top.

According to the 2012 Best New Product Awards (BNPAs), "Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber with Febreze won best overall product launch, as well as its category, household products. Sargento Natural Blends Cheddar-Mozzarella Cheese Snacks won for best launch within food and beverages, and Natural Johnson’s Natural Kids 3-in-1 Shampoo, Conditioner & Body Wash won best within the health and beauty category"

See the full list here.

What was really interesting was the look at consumer behaviors and attitudes towards the product categories they voted on. For example:

Food/beverage insights:

• Five in 10 -- in other words, half -- of adult shoppers consider themselves to be overweight. The same proportion say they are trying to reduce carbs in their diet, while seven in 10 are trying to reduce the amount of fat they consume.

• 86% continue to believe there’s a lot they can do with food and nutrition to prevent illness, and 65% say they are trying to reduce the risk of major health issues with their food choices (up from 62% a year ago).

Health/beauty:

• Only 25% of shoppers have been under the care of a dermatologist in the past five years.

• However, five in 10 feel that they have sensitive skin and look for appropriate products. The ingredients shoppers avoid most in skin care products are ammonia, peroxides and alcohol.

• Trust in the product can be built through dermatologists' recommendations, brand-name equity and consumer research that backs up product claims. 81% consider it extremely important than their beauty/grooming products are from a trusted brand, and 60% consider it extremely important that products are tested by dermatologists. Consumer research is trusted by 70% to 80% of shoppers, depending on the medium.

Private- label:

• More than nine in 10 shoppers have purchased private-label products in the past year.

• Seven in 10 shoppers have purchased private-label over-the-counter health products, up from just under six in 10 last year, making it the strongest category for private-label brands outside of food.

• National beverage brands are faring better than food brands. While nine in 10 shoppers have purchased private-label food products, less than half recall purchasing private-label beverages.

Environment:

• Just four in 10 shoppers are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products, but more than eight in 10 appreciate it when the manufacturer bears the burden of producing environmentally friendly packaging.

What were you favorite product launches of 2011?

is blogging the therapy teens needs?

Blogging used to be the big buzzword, long before site like Twitter tried to have you sum up your feelings in 140 charachters or less.

Don't act coy; chances are if you're a lady you kept a diary on or offline. I totally did till I got a guilty conscience for not writing in it enough! 

The theraputic component of it hasn't gone away..

"Research has long backed the therapeutic value of diary-keeping for teenage girls and boys. But according to a new study, when teenagers detail their woes onto a blog, the therapeutic value is even greater. Blogging, it seems, can be good for you.

The study, published in the journal Psychological Services and conducted by Meyran Boniel-Nissim and Azy Barak, psychology professors at the University of Haifa, Israel, found the engagement with an online community allowed by the blog format made it more effective in relieving the writer’s social distress than a private diary would be."

Here's what I found most interesting: "The findings may hold in the real virtual world as well. 'I definitely write posts in which I talk about being overwhelmed, and it helps me to relax,' said Royar Loflin, a 17-year-old blogger from Norfolk, Va.,"..."People will write in the comments, ‘I remember when I was in your shoes’ ” and ‘Don’t worry — you’ll get through the SATs!’ and it’s wonderful,' she said. 'It really helps put everything into perspective.'”

This is the support and feedback teens need.

super bowl parties set to break records (in spending, not just fun).

I'm going to be on a plane missing the best part - the ads!!

What are you doing for the Super Bowl? Chances are, you're spending money on it!

"A new poll from the Retail Advertising & Marketing Association (RAMA) says a record 173 million people expect to watch the game on Feb. 5, the most in its survey’s eight-year history.

Spending is expected to reach $11 billion. And 63.6 million (27.1%) plan to attend a get-together -- up from last year’s 61.2 million -- while 35.9 million (15.3%) plan to throw a party, also up from the 34.9 million who said they would do so in 2011." 

cartoons aren't only for kids; they're for lipstick (and nail polish too!).

There's an interesting trend emerging in the cosmetics category, with cartoon charachters adorning the packaging of cosmetics. This seems to be inspired (and driven) by a few things:

1. In crappy economic times women turn to makeup as a cheap pick-me-up that makes them feel better.

2. Wrapped (literally) in that splurge is the desire for physical beauty, which can be manifested in pretty packaging.

3. When the package itself projects a sense of excitement, beauty, and whimsey, the outside is almost as important as the inside!

MAC is a great example is the trend: "The brand introduced the Wonder Woman collection, with oversize compacts and lipglosses, last February; an online-only Miss Piggy collection the following November; a Venomous Villains collection in September 2010 (featuring some evil Disney characters like Cruella De Vil); and a Hello Kitty collection, with sleek black and pink packaging, in 2009."

What do you think? Is it nostalgia? Novelty? What do you think?

are QR codes finding a home?

Are magazines a safehaven for QR codes as they (continue to) fight for relevance?

"A survey of the top 100 U.S. magazines by circulation found the number of 'mobile action codes' climbed from 352 in the first- quarter issues to 1,899 in the fourth quarter, for a record total of 4,468 in 2011," meaning that advertisers are pushing for QR code growth and popularity.

This point underscores that: "In January 2011 there were seven advertising codes for each editorial one, and by September, that ratio had jumped to 25:1. The number of magazine titles with at least one action code hit 90% in May for the first time, and rose to 96% in July."

Here's what's really important - how are these codes being used? If consumers don't find immediate value in them, they're not going to use them...

"The study found that advertisers and editors are no longer creating codes that send readers to a desktop site. Instead, the goal is to engage users with branding campaigns and product demos, m-commerce initiatives, social media and sweepstakes for building customer databases. 

More than half (54%) of action codes featured video for showcasing products, offering behind-the-scenes footage or how-to guides. Nearly a third (30%) of codes were used for list-building, 23% enabled sharing a video or product information via social properties, like Facebook and Twitter, and 19% linked to an e-commerce store.

When it came to ad categories, the study showed nearly 40% of the action codes used in magazine advertising came from companies in three industries: beauty, home and fashion. Companies in these segments also led the way in codes placed in retail stores. In the fourth quarter, electronics vendors, such as Bose and Intel, joined the list of top 10 brands in terms of code usage."

apparently ladies DO run the world (of purchase decisions).

There are a few key targets marketers and advertisers have always aimed for, knowing that they influence key purchase decisions. You've read about the 'pester power' of kids and how women are the 'household CEOs'.

Fleishman-Hillard International and Hearst Magazines proves this later point with a new study, finding that "54% of American women believe it’s their responsibility to help their friends and family make smart purchase decisions, and a similar number said they regularly influence friends and family to buy or not buy a product or service. When the first study was conducted in 2008, only 31% felt they regularly influenced those decisions." 

That's some big percentages and big potential spending. As a lady, what's cool to see is women helping each other out; "According to the survey, a third of women (33%) have recommended a product or service in the past six months. Only 19% said they recommended someone not buy specific product or service."

For those digitally involved, it won't surprise you that social media is really driving connectivity and decision making. "In the past year, the number of brands a woman follows on Facebook has increased 12%. (And 65% of women are a friend or fan of a company, compared with 52% of men.) At the same time, 73% of women use Facebook, compared with 65% in 2010."

Ladies, can you relate?

can ultrabooks outpace tablets?

According to Juniper Research, the hot item at CES, "ultrabooks -- the fast, thin, lightweight laptops designed to take on the MacBook Air -- will grow at three times the rate of tablets over the next five years."

The caveat? "However, tablet volume will remain higher, with 253 million expected to be shipped in 2016, compared with 178 million ultrabooks."

It will be interesting to see what Intel, who claims trademark on the "Ultrabook" term, does to compete against Apple and the established MacBook air. Exciting!

who is the tablet shopper (hint: it's not a dude).

Accprding to Zmags, "more consumers who own tablets tend to like to shop, and make more spontaneous purchases than consumers who do not own tablets, the survey finds. Tablet owners also tend to be more intent on making purchases."

So who are these shoppings?

"14% of consumers who own tablet computers, such as an iPad or Android device, classified themselves as spontaneous shoppers compared with 9% of those who do not own a tablet. 9% of tablet owners said they were addicted to shopping, compared with 3% of those not owning a tablet. More tablet owners—9%--said they tend to buy luxury items than non-tablet owners, 3%, the survey found.

Tablet owners are more likely to shop for certain products than others. Electronics, at 53% of all respondents, topped the list of most-preferred products to buy using a tablet, followed by books, 41%, toys, 39%, clothing, 27%, and music, 33%."

What else?

"The survey also found that the typical tablet owner is 40 years old with an average annual household income of $63,000. 52% of tablet owners are women and 81% of all tablet owners use Facebook. On average, a tablet owner spent $325 during the survey period."

What does this mean for you? According to Sean Ford, Zmags chief operating of “We’re seeing a rise in the importance of the tablet as true vehicle to drive commerce."

are you a tech evangelist?

If so, you may be next on marketers' hitlists.

According to International Data Corportation, while a group ID'd as “Tech Evangelists” aren't the largest in the United States, they have plenty of influence over other consumer segments. As Michael DeHart, director of the global ConsumerScape program at IDC,explains, “They influence the buying and usage of devices about 500% more than any other market segment. They’re also far and wide much better at using technology than any other segment.”

So who are they?

"Tech Evangelists are about 22% of the worldwide market, and about 18% of the U.S. market. They tend to be extremely adept at using the advanced features of their devices, but are among the least impulsive buyers (meaning they’ve done their homework, DeHart says). They’re early adopters, but they don’t buy 'flash in the pan' devices, and they’re much more engaged in social media than other segments.

And they have a huge amount of influence over other segments (which, in addition to Pragmatic Purchasers, include: Impulse Buyers, Experiential Adopters, Green Buyers and Disengaged Functionalists). According to IDC, 41% of Tech Evangelists agree with the statement that their friends and family turn to them for advice before purchasing electronics. Plus, a small group of them (11%) have sway over another 28% of the market when it comes to these devices, DeHart says."