The future of mobile marketing

Predicting the future is hardly reliable, but it is good fun. At boxChilli, we’ve rounded up a few of our favourite ideas about how mobile marketing will shift in the coming years. We’ve polished our crystal ball to back-up our own experience, understanding of current trends and recent research. What do you think is the future of the mobile marketing? Leave your suggestions in the comments section.

Mobile marketing will continue to be under-estimated

In 2014, 62% of UK adults used a smart phone yet few businesses had a clear or successful mobile marketing strategy. As services delivered by phone become more sophisticated, it’s clear that companies need to step up and take advantage of this platform. Yet as it stands, many people are still trying to figure out how to interact effectively with mobile customers. Ad networks haven’t caught up, either, with many offering poorer mobile targeting options and limited reach.

Location services will become ever more important

Apps that serve customers local information based on their real time GPS data are already making a splash. Sites like TripAdvisor have created apps that help people find restaurants and attractions nearby, and users love the convenience. Advertisers want to get in on the trend too, targeting ads for shops and businesses to users who are already out and about. Look forward to a future where a shop can text you a coupon as you pass the door.

Shopping in-store and shopping online will merge

Smart phone users can already comparison shop online while standing in a bricks and mortar store, and thousands do. As internet ready devices and unlimited data plans become more common, expect to see more people shopping around before they buy, perhaps even while standing in the checkout queue. How bricks and mortar stores will respond as the competition hots up isn’t clear. Currently, the advantages of shopping in-store relate to immediate satisfaction and the chance to test or try on an item in person. Will that be enough to stop users visiting the shop then ordering online at a discount rate?

Older users will be a major growth area

As there’s been such a steady uptake among 16-35 year olds, with 98% already having internet access, it’s trivial to point to older users as an obvious smart phone growth area. Unfortunately, too many marketing professionals treat new technologies as the preserve of the young, ignoring the fact that many older workers use – or create – these tools as part of their job. And let’s face it, we’ve had phones that ‘do more’, such as play MP3s, since the 1990s. As the grey(ing) pound increases the amount they spend online through smart phones, savvy mobile marketing will provide them with the apps they need to shop, work and play. Looking further into the future, as this smart phone addicted generation grows up and older, demand for more sophisticated products will naturally increase.

At boxChilli Digital we have a years of experience in Digital Marketing, and have enjoyed watching the evolution of Mobile Marketing. If you are a business based in Portsmouth, Hampshire or surrounding areas and would like to discuss Mobile Marketing in further detail, or would like find out more about other digital services available please visit our pages, view our portfolio or make contact with our web design and digital marketing team. We really like to talk.

Danielle – Customer Account Manager – boxChilli Digital Marketing

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