Mobile searchers in the UK are more committed to the research process than their US counterparts, leading to a longer purchase decision cycle, according to new research commissioned by xAd, a location-based mobile ad network, and Telmetrics, the mobile call measurement provider. The UK Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study was conducted by Nielsen, and surveyed 1,500 UK smartphone and tablet users about their activity on mobile devices.

In the UK, price comparisons and reviews are the top two mobile research activities, as mobile searchers generally take time to conduct thorough research before making a purchase. UK mobile searchers demonstrate strong purchase intent, however less overall immediacy than US searchers. 40 per cent of UK mobile searchers report intending to make a purchase within the day, while 35 per cent take up to a month before making a purchase decision. Smartphone users demonstrate more immediate needs than tablets searchers, with 22 per cent looking to make a purchase within an hour of their search.

“As UK marketers outspend their global peers trying to reach mobile consumers, it is crucial to understand the UK mobile searcher,” said Telmetrics president, Bill Dinan. “This study reveals critical insights about mobile purchase behaviours, including preferred research tools, activities and mobile purchase influences. While two thirds of mobile searchers don’t have a specific brand in mind, they do cite the importance of local relevancy. Advertisers that include local cues such as location info and phone numbers in their ads can positively influence mobile purchase decisions.”

Location is an important influencer for mobile search in the UK, as nearly 50 per cent of both smartphone and tablet searchers expect search locations to be within walking or driving distance. In fact, location lookups are the top smartphone research activity for Restaurant and Auto searches. Location is more important to smartphone users, with 58 per cent searching on the go, including almost 15 per cent searching outside, and almost 10 per cent searching from public transport. Of smartphone users, up to 77 per cent look for a business’ location information, up to 67 per cent look up directions to the business, and up to 47 per cent look for a business’ phone number.

Only 34 per cent of mobile searchers know exactly what they are searching for, providing advertisers considerable opportunity to influence searchers’ ultimate purchase decisions. In the UK, two-thirds of users notice mobile ads, with 20 per cent resulting in a click. The top reason driving mobile ad clicks is local relevance – with nearly a third of users preferring ads that are geographically relevant. Additional reasons for clicking on ads are that the ad features a known brand, a coupon or promotional offer. Similarly, the ads that are most likely to motivate customers to make a purchase or visit a location are smartphone ads targeted to the user’s search or tablet ads featuring a coupon. 

“Successful mobile advertising campaigns must be tailored to distinct device and category nuances as a ‘one size fits all’ approach won’t produce the desired results,” said Monica Ho, vice president of marketing at xAd. “Insights from the Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study can improve UK mobile advertisers’ ad relevancy and performance and ensure mobile ads are hitting the right audience with the right message.”

Additional findings include:

• 8  out of 10 smartphone and tablet searchers visit search engines in the research process.
• Among smartphone owners, map/navigational apps/sites are most popular for Restaurant and Automotive users (45 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively), while brand websites are most popular for Travel users (49 per cent).
• For tablet users, brand apps/sites are the most popular for the Travel and Automotive categories (47 and 34 per cent, respectively) while map/navigational apps/sites are most popular for Restaurants (32 per cent).
• Online/PC use is still an important research tool for mobile searchers and is used to supplement research by 37 per cent of Restaurant searchers, 62 per cent of Travel searchers and 54 per cent of Automotive searchers.
• On tablets, 81 per cent of searchers report using the device at home, compared to 42 per cent of smartphone users conducting searches at home. 

There’s more information here.