These days we're constantly connected, shifting from one device to another for communication, shopping and entertainment.

Our research revealed the average person in the UK has three connected devices while 90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal. These 'sequential screeners' now expect a superb experience regardless of what they're using to browse on, whether PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, hybrid device or television.

Businesses have an opportunity to increase engagement and drive conversions by creating a great user experience that serves consumers across all of these browsing options. To support your business in establishing a winning strategy, today we're launching a new initiative on Think Insights dedicated to making your website work across multiple devices.

Who uses multiple devices? What do they value when they search? How do people prefer to browse when they're using more than one screen? We tackle all of these in one infographic - which also explains three implementation options for developing your website to function at its best across multiple devices.

These new Think Insights pages provide links to loads of useful resources too. A testing tool helps businesses like yours to analyse website load speeds on mobile and desktop. We've also included examples of great multi-device strategies - read how PlusNet grew its sales on mobile tenfold. Baines & Ernst increased mobile conversions 51% and Towergate increase mobile visits 218%.

This launch aims to provide industry-leading best practices, case studies and tools to enable you to optimise your site across screens and devices.

Article by Matt Brocklehurst, Product Marketing Manager, Google

Most of us now have laptops at work, smartphones in our pockets and great looking tablets at our disposal and they can all answer nearly any question instantly. To better understand how the multi-screen revolution is changing everyday life, Google commissioned three global studies, each covering more than 35 countries: “The Connected Consumer Study” and “Mobile Purchase Journey” with TNS,  and “Our Mobile Planet” with Ipsos. These studies explore various aspects of multi-screen lifestyles: How many devices do people own? How do people use them together? How have these devices changed their lives?  Do consumers research and purchase differently across different devices? The answers lead to one conclusion: in Europe, the multi-screen world is here now and context is king.

Fast growth of connected device usage: Europe leads the way

The growth in usage of connected devices has grown spectacularly in the two years since Google first commissioned these studies. We all know laptops and desktops were already widespread across Europe, smartphone usage is growing fast and now tablet usage as well. Smartphone usage in the UK has more than doubled in two years, rising to 62%. Meanwhile, tablet usage tripled in the last year rising to 30% from 11% a year earlier. In nearly all the countries studied, people use more than one connected device. European countries like the UK, Norway and the Netherlands lead the way with people using, on average, at least three connected devices. In the United States, the average person uses 2.9 devices and the average in China is 1.4. In southern Europe, where internet usage is slightly lower than northern Europe, people use two or more connected devices. Globally, all countries are growing fast, and many have seen tablet usage double or even triple in the past year.

Be on the screen your customers are using

This explosive growth in multiple device usage has had a major impact on people’s lives. Nearly three quarters of British smartphone users go online with their mobile every day, 80% never leave home without it and 54% search the web from their mobile daily. People use their smartphone everywhere: 85% use it on the go, 71% at work and 72% specified they use them in stores. Two thirds of smartphone owners expect websites to work as well on their phone as on their desktop. So it’s imperative for every advertiser to ensure their website is designed to work across all devices.

Multi-screen buying

Sixty-one percent of smartphone owners use their phone for researching or purchasing products, and while 52% research products on their phone at home, many do so out of home as well: 25% do so on the go, 19% on public transport and 18% in a store. Peaks in mobile product research happen during lunch, just before the evening commute and after dinner.

The research process crosses devices, especially when research behaviour before purchase is intense. For instance, 93% of smartphone owners use their mobile, desktop or tablet to research travel products, while 70% use them to research technology products. While research behavior is different across product categories, it is very similar across devices:  price, quality information, reviews, ratings and location are common topics of research across all devices.

Research on smartphones affects purchases on mobile and elsewhere. For example after researching a travel product on the smartphone, 12% completed their purchase on the smartphone and 88% on the desktop/tablet or offline.  

Google recently launched enhanced campaigns to help advertisers reach consumers across devices in the moments that matter. Enhanced campaigns allow advertisers to easily serve ads across screens from one single campaign, which can be targeted across locations and time frames, for instance only serving ads near shops during opening times. And with the new ‘offer extensions’ feature, advertisers are able to give people close to their stores a special tailored offer, such as 10% off if used in the next 1 hour. To see the full value of ads targeted to mobile consumers, check out the Full Value of Mobile calculator, a new tool that provides measurement tips and benchmarks to understand mobile’s contribution to purchase decisions.

Take multi-screen action

Will you thrive in the multi-screen world? Here are some tips and tricks for success across screens:

• Check your site. Is it optimised for all devices? The web is speeding up, with the average UK site loading 14% faster than last year. Fast and optimised sites are better for users and businesses – find best practices, technical tips, common mistakes and many more insights on how to make your website work across multiple devices.

• Can consumers find you? Try searching from different devices and using generic and branded terms related to your product or service. Did your brand appear the way you want it to? Enhanced campaigns offer an easy way for advertisers to be present on all screens with minimal effort.

• Check the Full Value of Mobile calculator to assess how your mobile advertising drives store sales and cross-device purchases.

View full presentation

View infographic

Posted by Ali Turhan, Industry Analyst - Agency Strategy

The Top 10 YouTube Ads for April have been published on MarketingWeek.co.uk.
This month's Leaderboard shows us how brands can engage a global audience from both sides of the atlantic. 

The Evian Babies ad is a huge hit at number 1 on our leaderboards in the UK, France, Germany, Italy & Spain and has also ranked highly in the US. Carrying on the trend is the internationally successful Dove Sketches ad, which has captured the imagination of the UK audience and comes in at number 2.

Irn Bru ranks well for the second month in a row and is a great example of how a brand is building episodic content, delighting impassioned fans despite geographical borders. Similarly, KLM's ad takes advantage of YouTube's global reach to launch their worldwide competition. 

Check out the full list here. 

Posted by Ali Turhan, Industry Analyst - Agency Strategy

What makes an ad great?  Simple: when people “choose” to watch it. On YouTube, we see this more and more - fans are opting to view and share content they’re passionate about, be it a music video, a favorite show, or an ad. 

In order to celebrate great ads that people love to watch, we are launching a monthly YouTube UK Ads Leaderboard to showcase the top 10 ads that most moved audiences and had the highest number of views through a winning combination of promotion (paid ads) and popularity (organic views).

The top ten ads leaderboard list for March is:

1. Fiat - The Fatherhood - Fiat 500L 12" Remix (Fiat UK) 

2. IRN BRU - New Fella | New IRN-BRU advert 2013

3. Pepsi - Pepsi MAX & Jeff Gordon Present: "Test Drive"

4. Adidas - adidas Originals | unite all Originals

5. Samsung - Introducing Samsung GALAXY S4

6. Save the Children UK - What Has Aid Ever Done For Anyone? Apart from...

7. Volvo - Volvo Commuter Hijack #2 - Cardiff

8. Foot Locker - adidas "Never Stop" with ClimaCool at Foot Locker

9. Volvo - Volvo Commuter Hijack #1 - London

10. O2 - Mother's Day Apps For Kids: O2 Guru TV App Lab

‘The clear trend this month is how big brand advertisers are using video to deliver unique original content made specifically for their YouTube fans - whether chart topping music videos such as Fiat’s The Fatherhood, app reviews like O2’s App Lab, or enlisting the help of Monty Python comedic geniuses for Save the Children. It’s no longer only about sticking your TV ad on the web and waiting for views, true success is thinking about how to entertain and interact with the online community to build a loyal audience of brand fans. A look through the Fiat’s comments demonstrates the connection that can be built through this sort of creative outreach and the value that represents for a brand.’ 

Kevin Mathers, Managing Director, YouTube UK

Stay tuned throughout the year as we recognize the new ads you love each month!

Posted by Ali Turhan, Industry Analyst - Agency Strategy

Gen C is a powerful new force in consumer culture. It's a term we use to describe people who care deeply about creation, curation, connection and community. It's not an age group; it's an attitude and mindset defined by 8 key characteristics.

Gen C:

1. Is a state of mind - 80%* of Gen C is made up of millennials. YouTube's core (though by no means only) audience 
2. Strives for expression - 67%* of Gen C uploads their own photos to social networks   
3. Is a taste maker - 85%* of Gen C relies on peer approvals for buying decisions 
4. Defines the social network - 88%* of Gen C has a social profile, with 65%* updating it daily
5. Uses YouTube as a habitat for entertainment - Gen C is 2X* more likely to be a YouTube viewer than the general population and 40%* more likely to be only a light TV viewer
6. Is constantly connected - 91%* of Gen C sleeps next to a smartphone
7. Connects on YouTube on all screens - 80%* of Gen C with a smartphone watch YouTube
8. Values relevance and originality - 39%* aren't opposed to ads when they are relevant. 

*For further information click here. 

Download Infographic below

Posted by Ali Turhan, Industry Analyst - Agency Strategy

Suppose that we could have hopped onto a flying sleigh for a quick trip around the world during Christmas. What would we have seen from up high? The twinkling lights of millions of multi-screen homes. This was a multi-screen Christmas season. People shopped online at all times, from everywhere, on all kinds of devices.

Cyber Monday, the first Monday after the Thanks­giv­ing hol­i­day in the US and the busiest online shopping day of the year, provided people with limitless opportunities to shop and save while being constantly connected. Thanksgiving may not be a European holiday and Cyber Monday may not be a well used term on the streets of Paris, Madrid and Milan, but our research proves that Europeans are just as likely to begin their shopping sprees in the week after Thanksgiving as their American counterparts. What's even more interesting - in Europe - is that shoppers were getting a head start with their mobile devices the Sunday before Cyber Monday.

We looked at several popular Christmas present search queries across the US and Europe, and discovered a surge of mobile queries on Sunday 25th November. In the United Kingdom, for example, mobile queries for electronics surged 103% YoY on the 25th when people were using their phones while out shopping. The following day, people turned to their PCs and tablets to take advantage of Cyber Monday deals while at work and we saw PC and Tablet (where we see similar search behaviour) queries grow by 105% YoY for top electronic gifts.

               

These same multi-screen trends carried us into 2013 as people researched how to shed those extra Christmas pounds and get healthier in the new year. On New Year's Eve, people did their research on smartphones while shopping for last minute outfits or getting their hair done. In the United Kingdom, mobile search queries rose 288% YoY on New Year’s Eve for gyms, cleanses and diets. And on New Year's Day, as people sat on their sofas at home recuperating, search queries on PCs and tablets rose 128% YoY for gyms, cleanses and diets.

Advertising implications for businesses
So we know that today's shoppers are constantly connected. We know they move seamlessly between many screens, in the moment, without second thoughts. And on all screens, they search. Now that we know that, what do we do?

One good answer is to think about context. All these new search patterns have created a world of new context-based marketing opportunities. When you know the time of day, a shopper's general location and the kind of device that they’re using, you can guess quite a lot about what they may be looking for and where they are in the buying cycle.

Need help? Upgrade to enhanced campaigns in AdWords to make your cross-device advertising smarter, more powerful and more measurable. Enhanced campaigns can help:

1. Manage your bids across devices, locations and time.

2. Show the right ad creative, sitelink, app or extension based on user context and what the device can handle.

3. Track conversions like calls. And soon, you will be able to track digital downloads, in-store purchases and other cross-device conversions.

Get the context right on the next day of note, say Mother’s Day or Easter. To learn more about AdWords enhanced campaigns click here.

Posted by: Suzanne Mumford, Product Marketing Manager - Mobile Ads

Source: Google Internal Data. Growth based on YoY data.
*Top electronic gifts defined as smartphones, tablets, ereaders, mp3 players.

Are you an advertiser or agency interested in the UK FMCG sector? Are you looking for more information on ROPO (research online purchase offline) behaviour? Then check out this study that looks at ROPO behaviour in the UK FMCG sector focusing on FMCG searchers and those who have visited a grocery retail online site. The study combines single source data for online behaviors and offline purchases in those categories.

 Key Findings:

• In 2011, 64% of UK internet users spent significant time researching brands before making a major purchase (vs. 50% in 2008). 
• 47% of main shoppers visit grocery retailer websites and 72% search for FMCG related terms. Two thirds of main shoppers search for Food & Drink related terms, half search for Beauty information. 
• Main shoppers who Search & Visit spend +13% more in-store than those who do neither. 
• Main shoppers who search for FMCG information online are younger, more affluent and have larger households. 

You can access ppt and pdf versions of the study on the Think Insights site here. Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

Are you an Agency or Advertiser managing international business? Are you after market insights from specific countries? Then take a look at the new Global Business Map on Think Insights.

The Global Business Map provides a country profile for 48 countries on 6 different continents. The country profiles give an overview of fundamental country facts and specific market insights. We have collected those metrics most relevant for uncovering market potential and to help you recognise business opportunities. For instance, did you know that Brazil is one of the top five countries worldwide for mobile Internet usage, whilst in Israel users spend on average 11.1 hours on social sites, more than double the global average?

This guide also provides an introduction to products and tools available at Google, which can help you get acquainted with the different ways to reach out and connect with your target markets.

Each country page contains the following data:

• Basic Facts: official country name, capital, area, top-level domain, official or most spoken language, local currency, age distribution and GDP in terms of purchasing power parity and rank. GDP in each country has been expressed in US Dollars.
• Demographics: Population (total, growth and country rank), a breakdown of the age distribution according to gender and age group, median age.
• Internet statistics: The Internet penetration of the population, the total number of broadband and fixed Internet subscriptions, as found by the International Telecommunications Union.
• Google Contact: The email address that you can use to get in touch with our local representatives. They will be happy to give you more insight into the statistics you can find in the pages here and connect your ideas with the appropriate Google products.

We hope this information helps you unlock new opportunities.

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

The question is no longer “Why should I invest in mobile?” - we’ve all read statistics about the tremendous adoption of mobile and tablet devices - but “How should I invest in mobile?”

A new addition to thinkwithgoogle.co.uk is the The Mobile Playbook:UK - a guide to winning with mobile. So if you need answers to crucial questions such as:

• How does mobile change our value proposition?
• How does mobile impact our digital destinations?
• Is our organisation adapting to mobile?
• How should marketing adapt to mobile?
• How can we connect with our tablet audience?

Then check out The Mobile Playbook...

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

New technology is turning the world into a playground, and play into the new business battleground.

Vast entertainment libraries can be accessed at the touch of a button. Video games are moving from teenage bedrooms to corporate boardrooms. Every lunch queue or quiet moment is an opportunity to create, collaborate or compete online with friends and strangers.

And in just a few days the greatest Games of all are coming to London, with 11,500 athletes taking part in a global celebration of sport.

At Google, we know that play is a serious business. It’s why we launched our new online entertainment service, Google Play, and it’s why this issue of Think Quarterly is dedicated to play in all its forms.

We speak with the world’s most playful brands, including the reconstruction of LEGO, the colorful evolution of Crayola and the free-roaming future of Disney. Our Country Director of Brazil, Fabio Coehlo gives readers a tour of marketing’s newest and most fun-filled frontier. We were granted exclusive access to the digital teams delivering the Olympics on both sides of the Atlantic; surfaced the latest research from our UX team on social gaming; and learned the secret to making YouTube videos that go viral.

I hope you have fun reading the issue and follow our Think with Google Plus page.

Posted by Rich Pleeth, Think Quarterly Editor

When H&M produces hot new collections, the Swedish fashion retailer knows just how to get the word out. With around 2,500 stores spread across 44 markets, not only does the company engage in traditional forms of marketing, but also integrates its social media with other communication activities. An early adopter of Google+, today H&M has more fans on the platform than any other retail brand – over 940,000 followers.

Unique, exclusive content wins followers
Instead of replicating the experience of shopping in the store or on the website, their page supplies a steady stream of interactive content tailored specifically to the Google+ audience. H&M publishes unique coverage, including a captivating range of exclusive collection previews, contests and behind the scenes footage, such as a Vogue editor preparing for an H&M photo shoot. Their most popular posts are the ones for their top collections with Beckham, Versace and Marni.

Using ripples to understand trendsetting
H&M has a very high rate of shared posts. Their team can “View Ripples” to see who has shared content and what has been said. In this way, the ripples feature lets H&M see how posts spread across Google+, who’s sharing and resharing the content and whose opinions matter. The feature can be used to identify influencers and see how communities form around content. The larger the circles in ripples, the larger the reach they might have.

Social extensions to integrate their social strategy into search
Another feature H&M uses are social extensions in its AdWords advertising. Social extensions help the company obtain a higher number of brand recommendations, +1’s and direct traffic to their Google+ page, effectively increasing their number of followers by doing so. On average H&M has achieved a 22% CTR uplift on all their AdWords campaigns thanks to implementing social extensions.

It’s all adding up...

All of this has contributed in great levels of engagement from fans with the following results so far:

• Average number of +1’s per post: 72
• Average number of reshares per post: 11
• Average number of comments per post: 22

To learn more about H&M’s inspirational example, read the full case study here.

Posted by Natalia Cano, PMM Google+ for Businesses

If you were watching the exceptional vocal achievements of the contestants like 100 million Europeans on Saturday 26th, it is likely that you had a smartphone or a tablet device in your hand at the same time.

From our recent Our Mobile Planet research, we know that consumers actively use their smartphones when multi-tasking with other media and more than 50% of Europeans do this while watching the TV. We therefore wanted to understand how Eurovision viewers were using their mobile devices during the finals by analyzing Google search results.

Top 10 mobile Eurovision countries - share of Google search queries related to Eurovision

Looking at related search queries from all 42 Eurovision countries on the day of and day before the finals of the Song Contest, we saw an increase in the share of smartphone and tablet searches by nearly 50% from Eurovision 2011. Consumers in a handful of European countries were particularly savvy, actively using their mobile devices to learn more about the mind-blowing performances they saw on screen. More than 54% of Eurovision fans in Denmark searched from mobile devices, along with more than 40% in both Switzerland and Norway. Additionally, Denmark and Norway had the highest share of Eurovision searches conducted on tablets with 11% of Norway’s and 14% of Denmark’s Eurovision queries occurring on tablets.

Tablets and smartphones come out when the show starts - please note this does not show absolute search volume

Looking at a timeline of searches for Eurovision (normalized based on total search queries for each device type), shows us that these mobile and tablet searches were largely complementary to desktop searches. At the primetime of the Eurovision finals, on the evening of May 26th, we observed that people were switching to their smartphones and tablets with more than 38% of queries coming from mobile devices. This is similar to previous search data showing that tablets come out as the sun goes down. The large screen and compact form factor of tablets favour usage in front of the TV and from previous studies we know that the top browsing location is on the couch.

So, how can advertisers take advantage of all these multi-tasking mobile consumers? Make sure that you are on their screen with Google Mobile Ads so that you can get in front of them at the right time with the right ad formats. This way, if a customer sees your TV commercial and then picks up their phone to find more information, you may show up at the top of the results.

You can easily show your ads only when your customers are on their couch looking for information thanks to custom scheduling in AdWords. Or, you can configure your account to bid more aggressively at the times of the day that correspond with your television advertisements.

And don’t forget to add a mobile specific call-to-action such as a clickable phone number for potential customers holding a phone in their hand. You should also ensure that the site your users see on their smartphones is mobile optimized for the best user experience. With all that done you can sit back, relax and watch the stunning performance of Loreen from Sweden who finally won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Posted by Frank Albert Coates, Product Marketing Manager, Mobile & Social ads EMEA

Back in November 2011, we told you about Think Insights, our information and resource hub for marketers. Well, we’re pleased to announce that it’s expanding. The Think Insights research library now contains studies and white papers from 21 different countries, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America.

We’ve also added some new videos and tools, including:

• Insights MENA and Insights Africa tools, which allow you to explore the media habits of consumers in the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Two new videos on the consumer journey. One focusing on research online, purchase offline (ROPO) and the other looking at attribution.

To see more about how the newly expanded Think Insights website can help you - check out our video. And follow Think on Google+.

Posted by Claire Martin, Marketing Team

What does creativity look like in a digital context? What does it mean for your business, your campaigns, and your customers? This issue of Google’s Think Quarterly explores these fundamental questions and more -- a must read for digital marketers!

As the internet comes of age, technology is catching up with our wildest imaginations. We can realize ideas that simply weren’t possible merely five years ago. And you don’t need to be a technologist or have “Creative” in your title to utilize technology in new ways; millions of people around the world are making, remixing, and sharing every day.

Case in point: There are over 800 exabytes of digital information in the world -- words, videos, photos, music. To put that in context, a volume of the complete works of Shakespeare is about five megabytes. It would take one billion book-filled pickup trucks to make just one exabyte. This is our creative output -- the sheer volume is equally inspiring and overwhelming.
Where to begin? The Creativity issue of Think Quarterly, launching today, documents this far-reaching transformation, cutting through the noise to focus on what it all means.

In “The Curious Case of Creativity,” Google VP of Global Marketing Lorraine Twohill sees creativity through an engineer’s eyes as a way to solve problems, big and small. Interviews with the founders of two award-winning global agencies, Sir John Hegarty of BBH and Ajaz Ahmed of AKQA, discuss what creativity means in a digital context and how you can encourage it, even at a big company.

We also explore how the web is inspiring entirely new forms of creativity, like YouTube remixes, 3D models, data art and infographics, that are reshaping how we see the world.

Take some time to check it out and let us know what you think on +Think With Google.

Posted by Rich Pleeth, Think Quarterly Editor

Do you know what your website looks like on a mobile phone? Just because you can see your site on a smartphone doesn't mean that it’s mobile-friendly. So, what is a mobile-friendly site? It’s a website designed specifically for mobile users and mobile devices. It’s fast to load and easy to use—no scrolling or zooming required.

The mobile opportunity is growing. Recent research [Ipsos study] suggests that smartphone ownership is quickly on the rise in the UK, jumping from 30% in Jan-Feb 2011 to 45% in Sept-Oct 2011. And those smartphone owners use their devices to search for information. Google mobile searches grew 400% in the last two years. Yet many British businesses still do not have a mobile website.

As 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site that they had trouble accessing from their phone and 40% of consumers would go to a competitor’s site, businesses need to get mobile in order not to miss out on customers who specifically search for their products or services.

The most important thing you can do to grow your business using the mobile web is to create a mobile-friendly website. So today we’re launching an initiative called GetMo that provides tools, information and resources to help UK businesses “Get Mobile”

So, are you ready to GetMo? Visit howtogetmo.com where you’ll find the resources you need to learn about what makes a good mobile site and how to start building one.

Here’s what you’ll find at howtogetmo.com:

• See what your customers see. Enter a website address into the GetMoMeter and see what your site looks like on a mobile phone. The GetMoMeter will analyse your site and give you customised recommendations on how to make your site more mobile-friendly. You can even download a free customised report on how to better serve your customers mobile experience!
  
• Learn about why mobile matters: Great infographics and the latest data will help you learn more about mobile trends and why mobile-friendly sites really matter.
• Get inspired by great examples: Look at the mobile sites of UK businesses who are doing it well and learn how to make your site better with our ten mobile site best practices.
• Find a mobile site builder who can help: Check out our list of mobile site developers who can help you build your mobile website.

Posted by Rich Pleeth, Product Marketing Manager

Check out the Google Small Business Success Stories site. See examples of UK businesses that are using Google products to help reach customers and succeed online.

You can also filter to see Internet Economy Data from the Boston Consulting Group. What value of GDP is brought in by the internet? What will this be by 2015? With more companies engaging with customers online, the Internet is having a significant impact on the economic growth of countries.

Finally, you can also filter by ‘Google eTown Awards' which celebrate the towns and cities whose businesses are growing online and contributing to the future economic growth of their country. eTown Awards are presented to towns that saw the biggest growth in Google AdWords customers over the last year.

You can also find lots of Adwords specific success stories here. Filter by industry or product.

Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

Cross-post from Googlemobileads Blog

Yesterday we shared some topline insights into consumers’ love affair with their smartphones and why businesses must fall in love with mobile in 2012. Today we go deeper into key findings on mobile consumer behavior in six countries - USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Japan - from the new “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” research we conducted in January 2012 with Ipsos.

Consumers love multi-tasking while using their mobile phones

• In general Americans are the biggest mobile multi-taskers, with 81% having used their smartphone while engaging with other media.
• 54% of UK smartphone users watched TV while engaging with their smartphone.
• 36% of Spaniards exhibit true multi-screen behavior as they use their smartphones while also using another internet connected device such as their computer.

This offline media consumption causes consumers to search on their smartphones

• Across most of these six markets, roughly 60% of smartphone users are searching because of an ad they’ve seen offline or in a store.
• Smartphone owners in Spain lead the way in searching as a result of seeing an offline ad. More than two-thirds (68%) search because of something they saw offline, with 62% searching as a result of something they saw on TV.
• Half of German smartphone users (49%) have searched because of something they’ve seen in a store, and one-third (34%) of French smartphone users have searched on their mobile due to an ad they’ve seen in a magazine.

More than 90% of global smartphone users are searching on mobile, making it a truly mainstream behavior

• 99% of smartphone users in Japan have used a search engine on mobile. This means that practically everyone who’s gone online on mobile has searched on their phone.
• Mobile search is a frequent activity. In most of these six countries more than 75% of smartphone Internet users search at least once a week.

Consumers Take Action After Looking for Local Information

• 92% of Americans use their smartphones to look for information about local businesses or services.
• Local information seekers take action. 81% of French smartphone users who’ve looked for local information then acted on it with a quarter (26%) having called the business and 43% having visited the business.
• Globally, 1 out 5 smartphone users in all six countries made a purchase after looking for local information, whether in-store or online.

One quarter of global smartphone Internet users have made a purchase on their smartphone

• Japan leads the way in mobile commerce with 40% of smartphone Internet users having made a purchase on their phone. One third of Americans (34%) and approximately a quarter of those in the European countries have made a purchase.
• Mobile shoppers are frequent purchasers. Across all markets, more than 50% of those who’ve made a mobile purchase do so at least on a monthly basis. In Spain, 64% of mobile shoppers make a purchase at least monthly, with 15% purchasing on a weekly basis.

Smartphones Influence Consumer Purchase Decisions & Channels

• Nearly one in four (26%) French smartphone owners say they intentionally have their mobile with them to compare prices and get product information. And the French say they have changed their mind about purchasing something in-store (19%) or online (17%) as a result of information they gathered on their smartphone.
• Smartphone research also leads to purchases online and offline. 37% of UK smartphones Internet users have bought something online and 26% of German smartphone users have made a purchase offline in-store or over the phone after having researched something via their smartphone.

These insights into mobile consumer behavior have clear implications for businesses. The companies that make mobile central to their marketing strategies will have an advantage in engaging with the mobile consumer. Savvy advertisers should adopt integrated marketing campaigns to take advantage of consumers’ natural multi-tasking media behavior. Businesses should also develop cross-channel strategies that make use of mobile as a bridge between the online and offline world as consumers shop and look for local information.

Download the “Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users” report to learn more about mobile consumer behavior and smartphone usage in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Japan.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing