Erin Collins
October 1, 2012
Marketers Hesitant to Allocate Significant Portion of Budget to Mobile
Recent Shop.org and Forrester research shows, despite the growth and market penetration of smartphones and tablets, retail marketers are still hesitant to accelerate budget spend for these technologies. The Shop.org/Forrester mobile surveys resulted in a combined total of 125 complete and partial responses from retail CIOs.
The survey results show smartphone marketing investment has increased incrementally since 2012, growing from an average $461,250 budget in 2011 to $462,840 in 2012. However, tablets
have gained increased attention from marketers as budget spend, on average, grew from $55,114 in 2011 to $206,932 in 2012.
When asked to cite reasons for the lackluster investment in mobile, 60 percent ofrespondents indicated unclear business objectives for mobile are an existing hurdle. Lack ofmobile experience (40 percent), staying up to date on the market and customer needs (36 percent), working with third parties (36 percent), and obtaining adequate budget for mobile initiatives (36 percent) were all also cited as challenges for marketers.
According to Shop.org’s Executive Director Vicki Cantrell, “It’s easy to forget that mobile retailing is still in its infancy, and unlike what we saw with eCommerce ten short years ago, mobile is almost entirely consumer-driven. As mobile grows, so too will retailers’ investments in technologies that make sense for their shopper, but to get to that level of commitment, retailers must first take smart, calculated steps to maximize the mobile shopping experience both now and in the future.”
Marketers seem to be waiting to make a significant investment in mobile marketing. Much like the emergence of eCommerce, mobile may first need to demonstrate proof of success before marketers allocate significant budget spend to this channel. Until then, mobile could remain on the brink of success.
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