Mobile Stats you Should know

As you know, I spend way too much time reading online guides and references, but what I can't escape is this: More people are using phones to hit the internet.

I know, I know, you've heard this all before, but what does this mean?  Well, read on, and I'll condense 100's of hours of technical reading to a few short facts for you.

As it applies to a bar/restaurant, it's important to remember:

1. What are people searching for?
2. What information do people need to come in to my bar?
3. What sites are they using to do this?

STOP. Think about this for a minute and I think the answers will become clear to you...

Now, let me back this up with what we think are the answers at ThriftyHipster, the stats that prove it, and what you can do to respond and capture these patrons.

SOME MOBILE FACTS

1. 70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour (Source: Mobile Marketer)
1. On ThriftyHipster.com, 92% use the site the day of going out, most go out within the hour.
2. 91% of all U.S. citizens have their mobile device within reach 24/7. (Source: Morgan Stanley)
3. There are more mobile phones on the planet than there are TVs. (Source: Jupiter)
4. There are 6.8 billion people on the planet. 5.1 billion of them own a cell phone, but only 4.2 billion own a toothbrush. (Source: Mobile Marketing Association Asia)
5. Only 1 in 5 websites are mobile optimized (Source: dobMobi)
6. MN: 42% of Minnesotan's use Smartphones (Source: bizjournals)

For MN, this is HUGE. I shouldn't have to tell you. Look around your restaurant one night and see how many people have smartphones.  I bet in the Twin Cities, the number of smart phone users is closer to 70%....

But that is WHY you need to be mobile.  What are people searching for and how are you making sure they find you?

Again, stop and think about this.

At ThriftyHipster, we can make people can find you, yes, but also, that they can read up-to-date information about you. 

Mobile Application (part of the HUB)

2012 New Offerings

Here are just a few things we have for the 2012!

New site, fully designed and customized to make new technology easy.  We have a philosophy here: Accessibility is king.

• When someone is searching for a patio in uptown, do they find you?
• When someone is on thriftyhipster.com searching for a 7pm happy hour in Nordeast, where you at?
• When someone is on Facebook and meeting friends later and is looking for your menu, do they see what they need?
• Is someone getting the tips they want from foursquare about you?
• Do you have time to manage your social media every day? Are you using it effectively?

The new ThriftyHipster makes solving these problems a breeze, and we'll forever grow with the technology.  We just want to say to you, you have a friend to help you deal with it all.

Mobile Site vs. Mobile App

Local Twin Cities Stats

• 40% local residents own smartphones
• Search volume on mobile increases 300% per year
• 9 out of 10 smartphone searches result in a purchase or patronage

Which is best for you?

For any local business (and most national businesses to be honest), the answer, is You should have a Mobile Site! (view our option)


Why Site over App?  First, understand the difference between "Mobile App" and "Mobile Site" 


Of course, this really varies with the way you use a site and what you hope to get out of it.  Yes, I know iPhones are popular, millions of people have them... But should YOU have an app?

Before Investing in any Mobile Platform, understand it.
Mobile App
Is a specific piece of software created and custom-coded to work on various phone platforms (Android vs. iPhone, etc)

Mobile Site
Viewable when a user tries to go to your site on their phone. It will reroute them to a special site formatted to fit on a phone screen and work on all phones with internet.

Here are some interesting things we've been reading:

• 9 out of 10 smartphone searches result in an action, such as purchasing or visiting a business. (Clickz) 
• Mobile Internet use is set to overtake desktop use in the next four years. (Search Engine Land)
• Webmasters no longer need have to have a separate mobile site – they simply need to have mobile friendly pages that can be housed under the same URL. (Google)
• Mobile search is different from device to device and will present different search engine results.
• The most used mobile apps in the U.S. are games; news; maps; social networking and music. Facebook, Google Maps and The Weather Channel rule. (mobiThinking)
• M-commerce (mobile shopping) is predicted to reach $119 billion in 2015. (mobiThinking)
• HTML 5 can be incorporated into mobile SEO practices to enhance a mobile site’s usability and performance, resulting in higher page rankings in search engines. (Mashable)
• The level of search personalization in mobile browsers will be higher because mobile phones are personal. (Search Engine Land)