Text Marketing Blog | MoboMix

7 Mobile Trends to Look Out for in 2016

 

The current decade is shaping up to go down in history as an era dominated by mobile technology. In terms of web access, mobile usage overtook desktop last year, and mobile marketing is no longer an optional extra - it’s front and center of any successful marketing strategy. These are exciting times for developers, small businesses and consumers. Mobile technology has leveled the playing field for all of them. 

So what next for mobile? We’ve identified seven trends expected to define mobile in 2016, and beyond…

 

1) SMB App Marketing

Thus far, small businesses have confined their mobile marketing efforts to text messaging and mobile-friendly website design. Developing an app has been viewed as a costly luxury, the preserve of big brands with deep pockets. That’s beginning to change, as a proliferation of software developers drive costs down, putting branded apps within reach of even the smallest startup. Apps will become the weapon of choice for marketers seeking to build loyalty, promote products and services and manage billing and payments. Functionality is improving all the time, with indoor maps and geo-location technology bringing ever-greater value to the customer.

 

2) Mobile Payments

Considering the overwhelming convenience provided by mobile wallets, they’ve been relatively slow to take off in the way that some predicted. To be sure, people aren’t going to cease spending hard cash in brick and mortar stores any time soon. But the gap between physical and digital commerce will be shortened during 2016, as mobile wallet facilities become standard native features on new smartphones, and more retailers accept payments from providers like Android Pay and Apple Pay.

 

3) Voice-activated Search

Much like mobile payments, you might have expected voice search to have progressed further by now. But Siri, Google Voice et al are only just getting to the point where you don’t have to repeat your request three times before typing it in anyway. The virtual personal assistant is no longer a joke. Furthermore, more people are talking to a wider variety of devices from a greater range of locations than ever before, as smart watches and various home devices ally with better coverage to make connectivity an anytime/anywhere prospect. All that needs to happen now is for marketers to optimize content for speech-based (rather than keyword) queries. It’ll be a long road, but 2016 will see major advances being made.

 

4) Geo-targeting

Tracking customers locations is on the rise. More people are allowing companies to know where they are and when - information they gladly offer in return for a good deal. According to one study, beacon technology will be adopted by 85% of top retailers by the end of next year, and have a direct influence on retail sales worth more than $4 billion. Like some of the other innovations we’ve looked at, geo-location has been around for a few years, but is only just beginning to gain widespread trust among consumers. 

 

5) Mobile Facebook

Until recently, there was huge skepticism surrounding Facebook as a mobile force. By this time last year, 78% of their $4.3 billion ad revenues was coming from mobile, and almost half of users had never interacted with Facebook on a desktop. Compare that to the same period in 2014, when just over a third of users were mobile-only and you start to see how safe a prediction it is to forecast a very bright near-future for Facebook and mobile.

 

6) Mobile to Overtake Print

For all the buzz in Marketingland about digital media, print adpsend is actually still higher than mobile - but not for much longer. In terminal decline since 2008, newspaper adspend will continue its downward spiral in 2016 and be overtaken by mobile. Mobile advertising is expected to have contributed 83% of all new ad dollars between 2014 and 2017.

 

7) ‘Customer Journey’ Marketing

Improved integration between all the technologies discussed here will see marketers getting serious about creating targeted, hyper-relevant campaigns capable of communicating with customers across the digital and physical realms.

Capitalize on the Shopping Season with your Mobile Marketing Campaign

 

According to Adobe, 26 percent of the $3.07 billion spent on Cyber Monday involved purchases made via mobile. What’s more, 37 percent of the $1.7 billon in Thanksgiving sale purchases were also made via smartphone. While these numbers are certainly impressive on their own, the general growth of mobile success throughout the year foreshadows even greater success for mobile marketing in 2016. 

 

Significant Statistics  

According to a report by Yes Lifecycle Marketing, mobile revenue increased almost 10 percent year over year in Q3. What’s more, the average revenue generated by iPhones increased by 46 percent year over year. 

And we’re just getting warmed up. Mobile accounted for 34 percent of Black Friday sales and drove an additional 53 percent of indoor shopping visits. 

Another significant report from IBM explains that online Black Friday sales increased by almost 15 percent this year compared to last.

The holidays are a great time to reinvent holiday marketing themes to push sales in the final quarter of the year. But that’s not the only time marketers or business owners should be thinking mobile. 

The reason so many reports have covered the growth of mobile is that this marketing trend has yet to reach its tipping point. The takeaway from 2015 is significant in that holiday mobile marketing is really just the tip of the iceberg. 

 

Mobile First in 2016 

Mobile marketing should become more integrated into every marketing endeavor, and not limited to seasonal or annual sales. Truth be told, it’s hard to predict the purchasing power of mobile just yet; but as more and more shoppers enter the web via mobile, businesses of every variety will have to realign their online shopping experiences to meet the needs of on-the-go consumers. 

This is why it’s so important to think mobile first in the beginning part of 2016. By focusing on the mobile experience consumers face searching or browsing for your company’s products or services, you can identify the areas that are performing smoothly and others that are leading customers astray. 

Mobile first is about a lot more than holiday shopping trends. It’s about rethinking the entire shopping experiences, including researching similar products, managing customer reviews, and communicating dynamic messages across multi channel campaigns. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over, but the general tone of mobile has been steadfast this year despite the season or celebration. According to several reports, next year will be an even bigger year for mobile; companies of all sizes should pay attention, less they get lost in the shuffle. 

InnJoo Launches Fingerprinting Smartphone

 

InnJoo, a Dubai-based Chinese smartphone manufacturer, recently released its latest smartphones, the InnJoo 2, Max 2, and Max 2 Plus, as well as a smart television, the InnTV 4. The company also introduced fingerprint technology, a unique feature found on its “flagship” smartphone, the InnJoo 2.

The technical startup was “born with Internet DNA,” according to its official website. It partnered with one of the largest ecommerce sites in the region to become “the fastest-growing company by providing smart devices as well as software services in the MEA area.” 

According to InnJoo managing director Robert Liang, the numerous device launches are designed to meet customers’ demands for “exceptional” technology, and that the options make ideal holiday gifts. Liang also said the company’s smart television is its foray into the TV market. 

InnJoo 2’s fingerprint technology offers improved security with regard to mobile applications and document accessibility. It makes for optimal photo-taking, and features a sleek design, dual 13-megapixel cameras, serious octa-core processor, and Android Lollipop operating system. The result? An enhanced Internet, picture, and video experience for users. 

“We at InnJoo are dedicated to bringing the new technology to the market, with an affordable price and premium quality that the market is chasing,” said Tim Chen, InnJoo’s Co-founder and CEO. “We think as a normal user when we design our products, define new functions and apply new technology to our devices. And as we see the increasing demands for privacy and security for every personal product, the fingerprint technology helps to satisfy it completely.” 

 

Long-Term Goals

The company has set its sights on becoming the “Xiaomi of the Middle East” over the next few years. Company heads are not only jumping up and down about the fingerprinting smartphone, but they are also very excited about what their smart TV will bring to the masses.

Chen noted that the InnTV 4 is designed to meet consumers’ lifestyle needs and subsequently make their lives easier. He said that the company’s smart TV is “probably the best” option for the most affordable price on the market, and that its functionality and features provide consumers with a “great experience.” Liang echoed these sentiments, remarking that the InnTV 4 features a 39-inch FHD display, which gives users a “splendid” quality of display, and that it runs on Android 4.4 “smoothly” with the core processor. The TV also features a built-in WiFi Module that provides Internet access so users can read news, go on social media, and more. 

Between the fingerprinting smartphone and the television, InnJoo is looking to make good on its promise to bring “premium quality, optimized software” to consumers for an affordable price.