Despite all of the hype surrounding mobile commerce, only 36 percent of chief marketing officers (CMOs) have included mobile in their holiday marketing strategies this year, according to a recent BDO USA survey. Of the CMOs incorporating mobile, 84 percent said it accounted for less than 10 percent of their holiday marketing efforts.
The findings, based on a survey of 100 chief marketing officers at leading retailers across the country, come as the survey showed that overall holiday marketing and advertising budgets remained at the same level as last year.
"Mobile marketing is still in the experimental stage, and flat holiday advertising budgets do not leave much room to test new waters," said Steve Ferrara, partner in the Retail and Consumer Practice at BDO USA, LLP, in a statement. "Still, mobile is hardly an afterthought for retailers. As consumers demand a more personal brand experience, we expect to see huge growth for mobile as it follows the same trajectory of the now-ubiquitous e-commerce channel."
The mobile ad spend data from BDO's survey comes as Tealeaf's Mobile Shopping Experience Report — based on an analysis on social media conversations of some top 35 mobile retailers over Black Friday weekend — found 58 percent of conversations praising mobile commerce with 36 percent favorably approving mobile features and functionality. Yet 41 percent of online conversations about mobile shopping reflected customer frustration. Less than one-fifth (17 percent) stated mobile apps/sites were easy to use and more than half (58 percent) of the negative conversations focused specifically on customer struggle issues, including payment problems and search-and-sort problems.
- Majority of Retail CMOs Hold Holiday Advertising & Marketing Budgets Steady, BDO USA Survey Finds - BDO USA/MarketWatch
- Tealeaf Releases Mobile Shopping Experience Report; Online Chatter Reveals More Than 40 percent of Mobile Holiday Shoppers Are Frustrated - Tealeaf.Yahoo
- Tealeaf Mobile Shopping Experience Report - Tealeaf/MarketWatch