mobile apps drive c-store sales

Mobile Path to Purchase StudyUnderstanding Mobile’s Role in the Retail Path to Purchase

2013

2xAd/Telmetrics Mobile Path to Purchase Study: Understanding Mobile’s Role in the Gas & Convenience Path to Purchase

KEY FINDINGSMOBILE IS THE PRIMARY MEDIUM FOR GAS & CONVENIENCE

APP USE IS HIGH IN GAS & CONVENIENCE MOBILE SEARCHES

GAS & CONVENIENCE SEARCHERS MAKE QUICK DECISIONS BUT CAN BE INFLUENCED

LOCATION AND PRICE ARE THE MAIN FACTORS DRIVING CONVERSION

used mobile exclusively in their purchase decision

of search time is happening in apps rather than mobile web

plan to purchase within the day, but only 10% have a specific location in mind

of Smartphone purchasers did so for one of these reasons

2/3

97%

88%

69%

Gas & Convenience users

are inherently mobile. They

use their phones while

on-the-go, looking for

nearby locations at the

right price, and with

increased urgency.

Therefore, the entire path

to purchase often occurs in a single mobile

session. Though the process is condensed

compared to activity in other categories

studied, Smartphone sessions are lengthy -

50% longer than the average mobile retail

shopping session - so there is plenty of

time to reach and influence these

engaged consumers!


TOPICS COVERED

» Mobile Reach & Usage

» Profile of the Mobile Gas & Convenience User

» Mobile Engagement & Behaviors

» Consideration & Conversion

» Comparing the Options: Price & Location

» Mobile Advertising – Awareness & Impact


STUDY METHODOLOGY

This study combines online survey data from 2,000 U.S. Tablet

and Smartphone users, as well as actual observed behaviors

from Nielsen’s Smartphone Analytics Panel of 6,000

Apple and Android users – each group reporting they

had engaged in activity related to Gas & Convenience

information, products and services in the past 30 days.

Respondent totals are as follows (none of which

are mutually exclusive):

• Smartphone owners: 1,765

• Tablet owners: 1,526

• Gas & Convenience users: 1,038

xAd, and long-time partner Telmetrics,

have collaborated with Nielsen to

develop this first-to-market mobile

behavior study that helps track the

mobile consumer from initial purchase

intent to conversion, while exploring

ad effectiveness and examining the

various profiles of mobile Gas &

Convenience users.


MOBILE REACH & USAGE


FOR THE GAS & CONVENIENCE CATEGORY, SMARTPHONE IS THE DOMINANT MEDIA

Number of Online Shoppers (thousands)

PC

Smartphone

Tablet*

5,084

12,900

685

Source: Nielsen Online panel, Nielsen Mobile panel, Nielsen iPad panel – March 2013*Tablet estimates are directional with a low base size

Percent of Time Spent Usage by Device

(Includes consumers who do not have all three devices)

1%TABLET

14%PC

85%SMARTPHONE


SMARTPHONE SESSIONS ARE MORE THAN 2X IN LENGTH OVER PC, AVERAGING OVER 6 MINUTES PER SESSION


In comparison, Retail users spend just over 4 minutes on mobile

Average Session Length(minutes)

PC

Smartphone

Tablet*

2.5

6.5

2.9


GAS & CONVENIENCE MOBILE USERS ARE ACCESSING THEIR DEVICES DURING THE

EVENING COMMUTING HOURS

Source: Nielsen Online panel , Nielsen Mobile panel – March 2013Note: Mobile Projections are n>17

Mobile PC

PC activity spikes before lunch, while mobile activity spikes before the drive home

INDEX OF ONLINE USAGE ACTIVITY BY HOUR(100 = AVERAGE AMOUNT OF SHOPPERS FOR THAT CHANNEL)

12:0

0 A

M

1:00

AM

2:00

AM

3:00

AM

4:00

AM

5:00

AM

6:00

AM

7:00

AM

8:00

AM

9:00

AM

10:0

0 A

M

11:0

0 A

M

12:0

0 PM

1:00

PM

2:00

PM

3:00

PM

4:00

PM

5:00

PM

6:00

PM

7:00

PM

8:00

PM

9:00

PM

10:0

0 PM

11:0

0 PM

250

200

150

100

50

0


Source: Nielsen March 2013 Mobile Database*Reach % calculated based on consumers with Smartphone devices, 126.6MM

HIGH USAGE OF APPS OVER MOBILE WEB HIGHLIGHTS THE

IMPORTANCE OF EASY ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THIS CATEGORY

UNIQUE AUDIENCE AND REACH GAS & CONVENIENCE

US, ANDROID AND IPHONE, MARCH 2013

APPS WEB

MONTHLY TIME PER PERSON (HH:MM:SS) GAS & CONVENIENCE

US, ANDROID AND IPHONE, MARCH 2013

91%11.7M

1.8M14%

Combined Gas & Convenience

App/Web Time per Person

00:37:56

WEB3%

00:08:37

APPS97%00:40:41


PROFILE OF THE MOBILE GAS & CONVENIENCE USER

Demographic Insights


GAS & CONVENIENCE TABLET AND SMARTPHONE USERS SKEW MALE AND MORE MATURE IN AGE

18-24 25-43 35-44 45-54 55+

AGE COMPOSITIONUS, Android and iPhone, March 2013

17%

15%

15%

14%

23%

22%

22%

27%

20%

20%

19%

23%

18%

17%

16%

22%

22%

26%

28%

13%

Total US Mobile

Total Gas & Convenience

Gas & Convenience App Users

Gas & Convenience Browser Users

Total US Mobile




GENDER COMPOSITIONUS, Android and iPhone, March 2013

Female Male

50%

47%

47%

44%

50%

53%

53%

56%

4%

4%

5%


USERS ARE PREDOMINANTLY CAUCASIAN WITH OVER 1/3 MAKING BETWEEN $50-$100K

White

Asian or Pacific Islander

Other Race

Black or African-American

Mixed Racial Background

<$25K $25-50K $50-100K

$100-150K $150K+

HOUSEHOLD INCOME COMPOSITIONUS, Android and iPhone, March 2013

RACE COMPOSITIONUS, Android and iPhone, March 2013

15%

12%

11%

20%

22%

22%

22%

21%

34%

38%

39%

34%

18%

16%

17%

9%

12%

12%

12%

16%

6%72% 13% 4%

76% 9% 7%3%

5%77%

69%

8%

13%

7%

7%

3%

7% 5%

5%

5%

Total US Mobile




Total US Mobile




4%


MOBILE ENGAGEMENT & BEHAVIORS


MOBILE IS USED TO KICK-OFF GAS & CONVENIENCE SEARCHES, AND OFTEN LEVERAGED ALL THE WAY THROUGH

OVER 80% OF MOBILE SEARCHERS USE

THEIR DEVICES EITHER AT THE BEGINNING

OR ALL THE WAY THROUGH SHOPPING

Questions used: CQ39: When visiting the <CATEGORY>, at what part of the research process did you use your <DEVICE>?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

STAGE OF GAS & CONVENIENCE RESEARCH PROCESS IN WHICH DEVICE WAS USED

SMARTPHONE TABLET

TOTAL TOTALGAS & CONVENIENCE GAS & CONVENIENCE

At the start

At the end

In the middle

All the way through

64% 58%52% 48%

14%10%14%

13%

5%9%8%

4%

17%23%26% 35%


MOBILE IS CONSIDERED THE PRIMARY MEDIA SOURCE FOR NEARLY ¾ OF SMARTPHONE AND 2/3 OF TABLET SHOPPERS

Questions used: CQ8G: When thinking of all the media outlets available when searching for <CATEGORY>-related information, which is most important?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

GAS & CONVENIENCE MEDIA OUTLET (TOP RANK)

ONLINE/PC IS FAR LESS IMPORTANT

FOR GAS & CONVENIENCE THAN OTHER

CATEGORIES RESEARCHED SUCH AS RETAIL

SMARTPHONE TOTAL TABLET TOTAL

SMARTPHONE

GAS & CONVENIENCE GAS & CONVENIENCE

TABLET

35%

67%

9%25%

48%

20%

49%26%

9%

6%6%

8%7%8%

37%41%

Mobile Phone

Online/PC

Tablet

Other


PROXIMITY PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN CONSIDERATION

Questions used: CQ28: When looking up information related to <CATEGORY> on your <DEVICE>, which of the following do you expect regarding the location of the business?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

3/4 OF MOBILE USERS EXPECT LOCATIONS TO BE 5 MILES OR CLOSER

HOW CLOSE SHOULD THE BUSINESS BE

SMARTPHONE USERS

4%<1 MILE 6%

<1 MILE

79%WITHIN 5 MILES

65%WITHIN 5 MILES

9%NO EXPECTATION

OF DISTANCE 18%NO EXPECTATION

OF DISTANCE8%

> 5 MILES

11%> 5 MILES

TABLET USERS


IMMEDIATE NEEDS DRIVE FAST CONVERSION

Questions used: CQ17: Upon accessing the app/website on your <<INSERT DEVICE>>, which of the following best describes you?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

2/3OF SMARTPHONE SEARCHERS ARE LOOKING TO MAKE A GAS & CONVENIENCE PURCHASE WITHIN THE HOUR!

HOW QUICKLY RESPONDENT LOOKING TO MAKE DECISION

IMMEDIATELY

WITHIN DAY

LONGER THAN WITHIN MONTH

WITHIN HOUR

WITHIN MONTH

WASN’T LOOKING TO GO

SMARTPHONE TABLET2% 5%7% 2%

24%

10%

31%

43%

35%

24%

16%


DESPITE AN IMMEDIATE INTENT TO PURCHASE, MOBILE USERS CAN STILL BE INFLUENCED

2/3 OF MOBILE USERS ARE STILL CONSIDERING PURCHASE OPTIONS WHEN LOOKING UP GAS & CONVENIENCE INFORMATION ON THEIR DEVICE

Questions used: CQ17: Upon accessing the app/website on your <<INSERT DEVICE>>, which of the following best describes you?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

SMARTPHONE USERS

1%2%

12%

27%

14%

33%

12%8%

30%

8%31%

22%

TABLET USERS

USERS ARE ENGAGED - SPENDING 50% LONGER RESEARCHING GAS & CONVENIENCE THAN THE AVERAGE RETAIL SESSION

I had no idea what I was looking for

I had a general idea what I was looking for

I had narrowed down what I was looking for

I knew exactly what I was looking for

Was just browsing

Don’t know


CONSIDERATION & CONVERSION


GAS & CONVENIENCE USERS ARE SEARCHING ON-THE-GO

Question Used:CQ16 Where were you when accessing the website/app on your smartphone/tablet?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

LOCATION OF USE

80% OF SMARTPHONE SEARCH AND

40% OF TABLET SEARCH HAPPENS OUTSIDE OF HOME

SMARTPHONE TABLET

Home

Gas & Convenience Store

Outside of Home

Other

3%2%1% 2%

37%

77%

59%

20%


SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS ARE LEVERAGED TO FIND A BUSINESS AND MAKE A PURCHASE

Questions used: CQ8E: When accessing <CATEGORY> information on your < DEVICE> what were you looking to ultimately accomplish?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

39% 36% 24%

36% 31% 34%

Looking for Business to

Purchase From

SMA

RTP

HO

NE

TABL

ET

Looking for Contact

Information

Researching

Options


NEARLY ALL MOBILE ACTIVITY LEADS TO AN IN-PERSON TRANSACTION

Questions used: CQ19: Did you ultimately visit a store/make a purchase or transaction related to your visit to the App/Site on your <<INSERT DEVICE>>?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

MADE A PURCHASE OR TRANSACTION RELATED TO MOBILE SEARCH

HOW GAS & CONVENIENCE PURCHASE COMPLETED

SMARTPHONE

SMARTPHONE

TABLET

TABLET

85%

84%

96% 95%

5%4%

IN PERSON OTHER


UNLIKE OTHER CATEGORIES, THE ENTIRE PATH TO PURCHASE HAPPENS IN ONE SESSION – OFTEN MAKING

MOBILE THE EXCLUSIVE TOOL FOR PURCHASE

Questions used: CQ36: Other than on your mobile device, what other media did you use to aid in your purchase decision? Made a Gas & Convenience Purchase and own: Smartphone(n=396), Tablet (n=138)

2 out of 3 users exclusively used mobile in their purchase decision

ADDITIONAL MEDIA USED TO AID IN GAS & CONVENIENCE PURCHASE DECISION

ONLINE/PC

TABLET

TELEVISION

NEWSPAPER

MAIL

YELLOW PAGES

OTHER

NO OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS WERE USED

21%

8%

8%

7%

5%

4%

2%

68%

29%

17%

5%

8%

6%

3%

1%

57%

SMARTPHONE

TABLET


COMPARING THE OPTIONS:

PRICE AND LOCATION

$


MOBILE GAS & CONVENIENCE SEARCHERS LEVERAGE MOBILE TO FIND THE BEST

POSSIBLE OPTIONS IN COST & PROXIMITYWAYS GAS & CONVENIENCE APP/WEBSITE USED BY DEVICE

Questions used: CQ20: Why did you go to the location/make a purchase that you did following your visit to the <CATEGORY> on your <DEVICE>?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

SMARTPHONE TABLET

To Find/Compare Pricing 66% 61%

To Look for Location 54% 56%

To Use Reviews to Decide on Location 36% 29%

To Find Online Deals 11% 10%

To Call for More Info 11% 22%


GAS IS BY FAR THE MOST POPULAR TYPE OF SEARCH IN THIS CATEGORY

SEARCH FOR GAS & CONVENIENCE BUSINESS TYPES

GAS

CONVENIENCE STORE

OIL CHANGE SERVICES/PRODUCTS

OTHER

90%87%

19%25%

26%18%

2%2%

Questions used: CQ20A: Why did you go to the location/make a purchase that you did following your visit to the <CATEGORY> on your <DEVICE>?Total Smartphone Gas & Convenience owners (n=466), Total Tablet Gas & Convenience owners (n=164)

SMARTPHONE TABLET


SMARTPHONE ACTIVITY IS LARGELY DRIVEN BY GAS COMPARISON SITES


NUMBER OF ONLINE USERS BY GAS & CONVENIENCE CATEGORY (thousands)

SMARTPHONEPC TABLET*

TOTAL CATEGORY USAGE

GAS COMPARISON CONVENIENCEBRANDS

GAS BRANDS OIL/LUBE BRANDS

5,084

2,0531,460 1,816

136

12,900

11,592

1,333271 71

685 223 262 135 -


REASON VARIES BY NEEDREASONS FOR GOING TO GAS & CONVENIENCE AFTER VISITING APP/WEBSITE (TOP RANK)

Gas (n=490) Convenience (n=103)

WAS IN PRICE RANGE

CLOSE TO MY LOCATION

HAD AN EXACT LOCATION IN MIND

BRAND I WAS LOOKING FOR

FOUND DEAL THAT NEEDED IMMEDIATE ACTION

HAD GOOD REVIEWS

37%14%

31%42%

10%15%

9%13%

6%4%

2%8%

Questions used: CQ20A: Why did you go to the location/make a purchase that you did following your visit to the <CATEGORY> on your <DEVICE>?

GAS

CONVENIENCE


MOBILE ADVERTISING: AWARENESS & IMPACT


C22/22A. Have you encountered/clicked any of the following types/categories of advertisements on your device(s) in the past 30 days?Smartphone Owner for Gas & Convenience (n=466), Tablet Owner for Gas & Convenience (n=763)

¾ GAS & CONVENIENCE USERS NOTICE MOBILE ADS

% OF GAS & CONVENIENCE USERS THAT HAVE SEEN AN AD IN THE PAST 30 DAYS

77% 72%70% 66%

TOTAL TOTALGAS & CONVENIENCE

GAS & CONVENIENCE

SMARTPHONE TABLET

21%

OF ALL SMARTPHONE & TABLET USERS CLICK ON ADS


C24. You mentioned that you encountered an ad during the past 30 days on your <<INSERT DEVICE>. Did you do any of the following after viewing the ad?

1 IN 4 GAS & CONVENIENCE USERS TOOK ACTION AFTER VIEWING AN AD ON THEIR SMARTPHONE

AND 2 IN 5 DID SO ON A TABLETSPECIFIC ACTIONS TAKEN

BY DEVICETOOK ACTION AFTER VIEWING A GAS & CONVENIENCE

AD ON SMARTPHONE (N=93), TABLET (N=27)

VISITED SITE THAT WAS ADVERTISED

USED A COUPON

VISITED RETAILER

LOOKED ONLINE FOR MORE INFO

TOOK ACTION

26%

TOOK ACTION

39%

NO ACTION

74%

NO ACTION

61%

AFTER VIEWING GAS & CONVENIENCE AD ON SMARTPHONE

NOTICED ADS ON SMARTPHONE FOR GAS & CONVENIENCE (N=358)

AFTER VIEWING GAS & CONVENIENCE AD ON TABLET

NOTICED ADS ON TABLET FOR GAS & CONVENIENCE (N=70)

35%

31%

15%

19%

42%

27%

23%

23%

SMARTPHONE TABLET


CQ27. When it comes to mobile advertising on your <<INSERT DEVICE>>, what kind of ads are you most likely to click on?Smartphone Owner for Gas & Convenience (n=576), Tablet Owner for Gas & Convenience (n=466)

Gas & Convenience Advertising Most Likely to Click on by Device (Top Rank)

NEARLY A THIRD OF GAS & CONVENIENCE USERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO CLICK ON AN AD CONTAINING COUPONS

27%

19% 19%23%

27%

19% 19%

24%

AD THAT OFFERS COUPON/PROMOTION

SMARTPHONE TABLET

AD THAT’S LOCALLY RELEVANT TO ME

AD THAT FEATURES A BRAND I KNOW

AD THAT DOESN’T TAKEME OUTSIDE APP/WEBSITE


n Mobile is the main source of information for the Gas & Convenience category – 2/3 of mobile users did not leverage any other form of media for information. Mobile users want to make a decision right away - often within the hour. But because many users are still undecided, there is still opportunity for influence. It’s important to reach Gas & Convenience users in the moment to impact their purchase decisions.

n Location and price are keys to mobile Gas & Convenience conversion. Mobile users are accessing their devices on-the-go and typically trying to find locations within 5 miles. The combination of proximity and the right price will bring them in the door.

n Gas & Convenience users want to make a purchase - 85% of Smartphone and 84% of Tablet users ultimately made a transaction – mostly in person. To reach these users you have to aid in their desire to convert by offering convenient comparison tools and deals.

CONCLUSIONS


ABOUT XADSince 2009, xAd has grown to become one of the largest mobile-local advertising networks in the U.S. and the only one

offering the ability to target mobile audiences using a combination of location signal and search context, leading to

performance that is 3 to 5 times above the industry average. Across its network, xAd aggregates and manages the

largest network of location verified mobile inventory in the industry, resulting in billions of location-specific ad impressions

per month and over one million national and local advertisers. xAd is based in New York City with several satellite offices

across the U.S. and internationally. For more information, visit xAd.com.

ABOUT TELMETRICSFor more than 20 years, Telmetrics has been the call measurement industry leader. Telmetrics’ call tracking solutions, which

are available in North America and across Europe, track the lead generation quality of local search advertising and pay

per call programs for the leading brands in local search. This includes both publishers and agencies that serve millions

of SMBs and national franchise locations across North America and Europe. With greater visibility into advertising per-

formance across all media channels—digital, mobile, print and more—media publishers, agencies and advertisers can

optimize the media mix for higher quality lead generation, resulting in increased revenues and a more complete picture

of ROI across converging media. For more information, visit Telmetrics.com

ABOUT NIELSENNielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in

marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement,

trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New

York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands.

Additional study details and findings can

be found at MobilePathtoPurchase.com.

For questions or to provide feedback,

please contact us at 888.234.7893 or

[email protected]

FOR MORE INFORMATION:


• Gas & Convenience Mobile Shopper: Smartphone or Tablet user who reported using

their mobile device to aid in a Gas & Convenience purchase in the past 30 days.

• Mobile Application/App: mobile content portal which does not require access via

a mobile browser, though does still require internet access to reach.

• Mobile Website/WAP: mobile content source accessible via a mobile browser

such as Google or Safari, which requires internet access to reach. Desktop-accessible

websites visited with a Smartphone are then called mobile websites.

TERMINOLOGY

mobile apps drive c-store sales

Technology