Does Apple Pay change things for marketers?

An Apple a Day…

There were lots of shiny new gadgets to grab attention at Apple’s recent announcement, including a couple of new phones that continue the trend towards larger mobile screen size. This trend has implications for the mobile experience, but Apple’s foray into the mobile payments space is the real game changer.

Why will Apple Pay succeed where Google Wallet failed?

David Auerbach wrote an interesting article on the differences between both Apple and Google’s approach and why the latter wasn’t conducive to widespread adoption. It’s definitely worth the read.

With more and more screen time shifting to mobile, it’s not surprising that ad dollars have shifted toward mobile channels as well. With mobile occupying 23.3% of media consumption, it has historically functioned as a research channel, with purchases being made in store or on a desktop device. Now, with nearly a 1/3 of online purchases happening on mobile devices, it not surprising that Apple wants a piece of the m-commerce pie.

What to expect

• In-app purchases will become even easier and will continue to rise for organizations that make the mobile experience thoughtful and more enjoyable.
• Retail partners will offer behaviour and proximity triggered in-store campaigns, “Save 20% on our new stretch denim” “Visit aisle 8 for new fall colours of nail polish” and so on.
• Mobile advertising will include more instant redemption coupons to drive purchases.

What does this mean for marketers?

• Mobile experience matters more than ever. Yes, larger screens will make it easier for consumers to use their devices for purchases, but they will continue to demand an exceptional mobile experience. Responsive sites are great, but they need to be evaluated for suitability of driving conversion related behaviour. A slick responsive site is useless if mobile CTA’s are difficult to find. Buttons like “click to call” should be on the home page, not 3 clicks deep.
• Mobile ad spend will increase. No surprise here—the competition for mobile inventory will increase and we will see increased inflationary pressure on costs in order to keep up.
• Reporting on financial metrics (conversions or revenue) will increase. Understanding the role of mobile in cross-device campaigns will be even easier for marketers even though Apple isn’t collecting purchasing data. Marketers have historically under invested in mobile campaigns due to the difficulty in attributing purchasing behaviour to mobile investment.

How have your mobile marketing efforts changed over the last year? If you don’t have a presence on mobile, you’re missing out on the significant number of consumers that are not just researching, but in fact purchasing from their mobile device. If you’re looking for help with your mobile presence or even integrating your existing campaigns, then get in touch. We’re happy to discuss options for mobile marketing success!