Mobile is expected to make purchasing decisions easier for consumers this year, according to a new report from Mojiva.

In Mojiva?s ?In Love with Mobile: A retail mcommerce snapshot? the company looked at how consumers plan to use their mobile devices to help with Valentine?s Day shopping this year. Additionally, the report points to how consumers respond to mobile advertising.

"Consumers are much more demanding about what they want from the shopping experience," said Amy Vale, vice president of global research and strategic communications at Mojiva, New York.

"With mobile devices always within reach, users expect a seamless buying experience," she said. "That means brands cannot just have an either/or mentality when it comes to mobile. If they want to increase sales in an impactful way through a consumer?s most personal device, they need to integrate content, social, advertising and an easy mobile commerce experience."
 
"In the next year, I hope more brands will test and refine the mcommerce capabilities in their mobile campaigns so that it is not just about reaching a massive audience, but also dollars in the door. Instead, it will be about developing a cross-channel mobile strategy to reach the right audience with the right types of ads and convert them into repeat, loyal shoppers across digital, mobile, social and in-store. To make that happen, brands will need to make a bigger investment in improving the strategy, creative execution and measurement of mobile campaigns."

Mobile love
Mojiva?s study took place from Dec. 27 ? 28 and includes 1,000 completed surveys from consumers who own both a smartphone and tablet and more than 18 years old. 601 females and 399 males are included in the results.

Forty-seven percent of the consumers said that they would choose to shop via mobile instead of going into a bricks-and-mortar store to find a Valentine?s Day gift.

Mojiva?s study then broke down the responses into men and women. Fifty-six percent of the men surveyed said that they would pick their mobile device over a store to buy gifts. Forty-two percent of women said the same.

These consumers are also willing to fork over significant money on their mobile devices for gifts.

For smartphone owners, 49 percent of men surveyed said that they would spend more than $50 on a gift that was bought on their mobile device. The percentage is smaller for women though ? 37 percent of women said that they would spend $50 or more on a gift.

It is no surprise that tablet users tend to spend more. Per the study, 40 percent of women and 48 percent of men said that they would spend $50 on a gift that was bought via their tablet. For purchases equal to $75 or more, 25 percent of men and 20 percent of women said that they would be willing to shop from their devices.

The research also singles out a few verticals that are consumers are particularly apt to shop from their mobile devices on.

Thirty-eight percent of survey respondents said that they would shop for clothing on their mobile devices, for example. Candy and perfume/cologne represented 28 percent of responses and jewelry represented 25 percent of answers.

Other top goods include flowers, deals and event tickets.

One of the biggest discrepancies between men and women mobile shopping habits happens when buying flowers, per the report. Forty-three percent of men said that they would buy flowers straight from their mobile devices while only 22 percent of women said the same.

Respondents were also asked if they had used a mobile dating app in the past six months. Forty-three percent of consumers said yes and 57 percent said no.

Holiday-triggered ads
One of the factors behind mobile?s success with Valentine?s Day shopping is that it is a social holiday.

To help trigger holiday-related sales, marketers need to align key performance indicators to include more than branding though. Instead, advertisers need to play up commerce to give users instant access to a brand.

For instance, 81 percent of consumers polled said that they were more likely to interact with a mobile ad that was timely and led up to an event such as Valentine?s Day.

According to the study, 79 percent of the consumers surveyed said that they had engaged with a mobile ad in the past six month. This is split between 80 percent of men who said that they had interacted with a mobile ad and 77 percent of women.

The findings point to a direct correlation between mobile advertising and brand favorability. Overall, 55 percent of respondents said that they think favorably of brands that use mobile advertising.

Giving consumers a clear value is critical to mobile advertising. When it is done correctly, consumers respond to mobile advertising in a positive way. For example, the study found that 87 percent of survey participants said that mobile ads can provide valuable information to them.

The findings also break down which types of mobile ad formats consumers are most responsive to. Fifty-six percent of consumers said that they were likely to interact with a banner ad compared to the 44 percent of users that were interested in full-screen video or rich media ads.

"There are a growing number of brands that are starting to get really comfortable with mobile and using it to drive both mobile and in-store sales," Ms. Vale said.

"Starbucks did it last year with its Starbucks Cup Magic app, letting users send mushy love messages through augmented reality technology that interacted directly with their Valentine?s Day-themed coffee cups," she said.

"For brands to increase their sales long-term, mobile marketing needs to be leveraged in conjunction ? not in competition ? with other traditional forms of advertising."

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York