Mobile Auto Study, Based on comScore Data, is First in a Series from Jumptap
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — When consumers want to learn more about a vehicle or car maker, they are reaching for their mobile devices at an astonishing rate. Data released today from a study from Jumptap, the leader in targeted mobile advertising, and based on data from comScore, found that traffic to mobile automotive sites is increasing at a much greater rate than their online counterparts. While visitors to online auto sites are growing at 30 percent year over year, visitors to mobile auto sites have grown 463 percent, more than 15 times the rate of growth for online visitation.
The research showed that those visiting mobile auto content sites were more likely to own a tablet than the overall mobile population, and also much more likely to own a smartphone. A full 69 percent of visitors accessing mobile auto sites are using smartphones compared with the roughly 31 percent of mobile device users who have smartphones overall. These data points suggest that the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets as a visual and portable research tool may prove to have a great effect, and introduce new modalities, related to how people research and shop for cars.
“At Ford, we moved aggressively to mobile marketing, prior to the shift in consumer behavior of using smartphones and tablets to do auto research. This recently published study from Jumptap and comScore further validates that this is where the market is headed, and our assumptions were correct,” said Brian McClary, Social & Emerging Media Specialist for Ford Motor Company. “We’ve seen some great success so far running mobile campaigns on Jumptap’s network, and will continue to work with them to find ways to target this audience as it continues to evolve.”
According to the study, Edmunds.com is the most accessed auto site on mobile, with 17.1 percent of mobile consumers who access auto content visiting the site.
“Buying a car has always been a mobile process,” said Stephen Gandee, VP Mobile & Emerging Technology for Edmunds. “You have to ultimately go to a dealership to test drive the car and make sure it’s right for your lifestyle and budget, so having access to the information, pricing and available inventory in your area at your fingertips just makes smart consumer sense. We are seeing the traditional auto buying process being disrupted with the availability of this information on the mobile device.”
The study also took a look at the demographic make-up of mobile auto site visitors. Whereas consumers visiting online auto sites closely mirror the overall online population, visitors to mobile auto sites are more likely to be male than the typical mobile user. While men make up 48 percent of the overall mobile audience, they make up 66 percent of mobile auto content users.
“At Jumptap, we work closely with major auto manufacturers to find the best ways to reach the right mobile audience through data and targeting,” said Paran Johar, Chief Marketing Officer for Jumptap. “As brands realize the power and potential of mobile advertising, they are increasingly calling on us to help them understand mobile audience through in-house analysis and outside research. Our auto study, the first in a series of vertical-specific studies Jumptap will be conducting this year, paints a picture of a very fast-growing population of people using smartphones and tablets to research automotive information.”
Jumptap’s Chief Media and Revenue Officer, Todd Anderman, and Stephen Gandee, VP Mobile & Emerging Technology at Edmunds.com presented the full research study at the Mobile: IAB Marketplace in New York City on Monday, July 18th.
For more information on the event, visit http://www.iab.net/events_training/2011/mobile/overview.
For more information on the study, email Sharon Harris at sharon.harris@jumptap.com.
Reporting Methodology
Online data for this research study was sourced from comScore’s global panel of 2 million Internet users. Mobile data was sourced from comScore MobiLens, Plan Metrix Mobile study, and Mobile Metrix product.
About Jumptap
Jumptap is the leader in targeted mobile advertising. With an unmatched portfolio of technology patents, Jumptap’s data-driven solutions deliver the highest ROI for advertisers, and the best yield for publishers, across multiple platforms. The company partners with digital and media agencies, publishers, wireless carriers and brand advertisers, to deliver an array of mobile advertising solutions. For more information, visit www.jumptap.com or follow us on twitter.com/jumptap.
