Smartphone users are on the hunt for retailers

Multichannel retailers beware: Shoppers are hunting you down on the streets using a powerful implement, their smartphones.

Nearly one in three smartphone owners have called or stopped into a local business after finding it using a local search site or app, and close to a third of Android and iPhone owners discovered at least two new businesses they were not previously aware of as a result of using a local search site or app, according to “Q1 2010 Smartphone Intelligence Survey” by Compete, a Kantar Media company that measures online and mobile consumer behavior.

This puts pressure on retailers: When consumers are accustomed to tools highly optimized for mobile such as local search, they have an expectation that the businesses they find also will provide a user-friendly mobile experience.

“With the increasing popularity of local search, retailers should ensure their sites are optimized for mobile browsers,” says Danielle Nohe, director of technology and entertainment at Compete. “Making it easy for consumers to discover businesses via their devices opens local companies up to a whole new customer demographic, and savvy businesses should make sure they’re maximizing this opportunity.”

The report surveyed 705 U.S. smartphone users and combined their responses with click-stream data of a panel of smartphone users Compete tracks. In addition to consumers’ use of local search, the survey also found that many smartphone owners are quite into mobile social networking. 33% of smartphone owners who use Twitter primarily send tweets via their smartphones, and 33% of these consumers prefer to read tweets on their phones.

Of those accessing Facebook from their smartphone, consumers are increasingly using the device to read news feeds (66%), post status updates (60%), read and reply to private messages (59%), and post photos (44%). That many consumers reading their news feeds on a mobile device has ramifications for retailers, who are trying to get their brands into those news feeds through Facebook friendships with consumers.

“Given the increasing popularity of Facebook, Twitter and other social sites, it follows that users are eager to access these outlets on their phones,” says Nohe. “Based on our findings, I recommend marketers start thinking about new ways to maximize consumers’ use of smartphones on social sites, as mobile adoption will likely only increase with time.”