Mobile phone users played it safe in a wet early summer, as rain-shy consumers made fewer searches for places of interest to spend the day out. Compared to the same time last year, m-Spatials Q2 Mobile Local Search Index 2007 highlights a decrease in searches made for history and culture (down 16%), scenic places (down 37%) and sports grounds and stadiums (down 32%). Conversely, searches for travel agents increased by 137% as people sought hotter climes.
The m-spatial Q2 Mobile Local Search Index 2007 charts local searches made on mobile phones in the second quarter of 2007. The Mobile Local Search Index highlights consumer trends, and when compared with the results from 12 months ago, shows interesting movements in brand popularity over the last year. In the Q2 Mobile Local Search Index 2006, for example, McDonalds was the third most popular search result brand, behind Pizza Hut and Tesco, yet the backlash against unhealthy eating over the last twelve months has seen McDonalds drop out of the top 10, with 61% fewer searches for the brand taking place.
The results for Q2 show how unpredictable weather affects what people are looking for, and the poor start to the summer resulted in a substantial increase in people looking for foreign holidays, and a significant drop in people looking to spend days out in the UK says m-spatial CEO, Andy Walker. Were also seeing how the media affects search and subsequent spending behaviour. Healthy eating campaigns may have forced McDonalds to change their menu, yet fewer people are looking for the nearest Big Mac when compared to other fast-food offerings.
Another key trend highlighted by the index is the amount of searches made for cinemas, with Odeon, Cineworld and Vue all now established in the top 10 search result brands, when 12 months ago not one was listed. Originally, it was thought that this was a seasonal variation, but it now appears to reflect wider consumer trends and the effect of other promotions connected with m-spatial white label mobile local search partners.
The m-spatial Mobile Local Search Index launched in April 2006, and provides quarterly results on what mobile users are searching for. m-spatial specialises in converged local search, connecting consumers to local businesses and information via mobile phones and personal navigation devices. The company provides its products via a white label ASP delivery model to mobile network operators, directory providers and personal navigation providers. Its customers include Orange, Vodafone, O2 and Seat PagineGialle, the Italian directory provider.