07.18.13 how mobile natives discover products
Dscout is a cutting-edge research platform built for a mobile and social world.
We thought a good way to understand consumer trends would be to study what millennials bought, capturing new consumers and new products in one go. millennials + new products they discover
93% 100% used facebook in the last week smartphone owners We recruited 246 millennials who relied heavily on their smartphones for a variety of tasks. I AM CONSTANTLY talking texting 46% 86% emailing 76% taking pics 52% on social media 72% web browsing 68% gaming 26%
We call our recruits scouts. In this particular study, we also call them mobile natives. 66% women 26 average age 62% employed full-time 66k average income
Scouts downloaded dscout s free app and used it to document five product purchases each. Scouts completed their mission between 05/07/13 & 05/12/13.
In total, scouts shared 1,183 purchases.
This is one such purchase. Amber D Houston, TX This is a Jose Eber clipless curling iron. Pardon my vanity with this product, but this Iron is amazing. I have stick straight hair that has never held a curl no matter what. With all the amazing photos of long gorgeous curls on pinterest, i longed for that look. I have been looking for a good curling iron that could give me curls that would stay all day without the use of hair products. I tried just about everything. I asked me friend who is a hairdresser what she recommend an she said to get a professional clip-less iron. I did some research Online and found the best priced clip less curling iron with the highest consumer rating. This iron appealed to me because it reached a very high temperature (that's why it is considered professional), and did not have the clip (makes the iron quicker and more versatile) that traditional curling irons have.
For each purchase, we asked scouts a series of questions to help us understand:! // where it was first encountered // how much time elapsed between discovery and purchase // purchase influences // reason for purchasing // place of purchase! Afterwards, we tagged our data rigorously to reflect product category and purchase method.
Our mobile native scouts bought...
136 food items 11 eyeglasses 11 phones 71 shoes 7 cars N = 1183 purchases 6 soaps 29 alcoholic drinks 148 electronics 3 manicures 1 set of juggling knives 31 bags 1 kayak
THINKING ABOUT YOUR FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THIS FIND, DID IT HAPPEN ON A The first thing we noticed? Phones were almost entirely absent from the discovery process. offline 60% tablet 4% phone 5% computer 31%
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS DO YOU THINK INFLUENCED YOU TO BUY THIS? While friends were in-store friend 23% 39% perceived as hugely ecommerce store 18% influential by our scouts, that did not extend to social networks. chance encounter an article a blog / forum advertising 12% 10% 10% 7% social network 6% nothing, really 4% classified 1% other 14%
So that s what we didn t see. What did we see?
photography love Is is a 50 mil macro lens made by Canon. I work as a photographer and I love building my collection equipment. Plus macro lens are awesome! I've always known about this lens, I just needed to save up enough to purchase it. First time I came across it was on a friend's camera. I learned more about the lens from playing with it hands on and researching it online. Brittany W Chicago, IL all rights all rights reserved reserved 2013 2013
concealer I bought a new concealer. The one I've been using has not been working well... I heard this one looks really natural and won't make you break out because it's skin clearing. I looked through all of the different concealers at target. I was worried that a lot of the drugstore brands would look cakey. I read the packaging on about five different concealers before choosing this one. I think I gravitated towards neutrogena because thy are a skin care brand (I've seen many skin care commercials for neutrogena). Brittany B Beaverton, OR all rights all rights reserved reserved 2013 2013
the most amazing chair This chair is an exact replica of a chair from a company called arhaus that cost $1600. This one was $225. I'm not kidding. I just love it. It can literally be put in any room and instantly make it pop. It's cozy and has a high back and a feel seat and who doesn't love the nail heads all over it!!!! I just can't live without it. I have been looking for a chair for our guest room foreeeeeever. Nothing crazy just simple and my friend saw this one and sent me a pic immediately and I went and picked it up!!! Melinda W Naperville, IL all rights all rights reserved reserved 2013 2013
a practical splurge This is a Vince Camuto Scarf from Dillard's. I found this scarf and immediately realized that I had to have it. It a really pretty light fabric that is wearable for the Spring and Summer ( in contrast to the number of of thicker scarves I have to survive the Chicago winters)... I purchased this on a whim while shopping for a dress. Davlyn T Chicago, IL all rights all rights reserved reserved 2013 2013
Brittany W Chicago, IL Brittany B Beaverton, OR Melinda W Naperville, IL Davlyn T Chicago, IL We chose these examples for a reason: Each typifies one of four modes of product discovery.
Seek 25% A laser-focused mission to acquire something specific, right down to knowing the brand and model in advance.
Sift 24.6% A deliberate search for an item in a particular product category, when requirements are clear but the landscape of available options isn t.
A sudden recollection that you d meant to purchase something, Seek 24% only remembered after encountering that thing by chance. Sift 24% Surface 23.6%
Seek A classic 24% impulse purchase. Sift 24% See it, love it, buy it. Stumble 26.6%
Seek 25% Sift 24.6% Surface 23.6% Stumble 26.6%
narrow aperture Overall, we see two dimensions underlying our modes of discovery.! One is aperture, which is the specificity of a search. The other is mindfulness, which is the awareness of searching.! For instance, our Seek mode is top of mind and narrow aperture meaning, a deliberate search for a specific product. back of mind Surface Stumble Seek Sift top of mind broad aperture
Top-of-mind discoveries were much more likely to have had a digital inception. FIRST ENCOUNTER = DIGITAL / PHYSICAL physical 48% digital 52% physical 54% digital 46% physical 60% digital 40% physical 74% digital 26% Seek Sift Surface Stumble
Top-of-mind discoveries were less likely to have had a short gestation period. % OF PURCHASES MADE WITHIN HOURS OF FIRST ENCOUNTER 22% Seek Sift 33% Surface 53% Stumble 65%
Not all product categories exhibit the same discovery patterns.! For instance, clothing purchases are usually surfaced or stumbled that is to say, back of mind. In contrast, electronics are usually sought or sifted that is, top of mind.! A few categories, like shoes, tend to be stumbled or sought in equal measure. BACK OF MIND TOP OF MIND clothing fashion accessories food and dining electronics tech accessories sports & fitness Seek Sift Surface Stumble ALL OR NOTHING shoes & bags home & garden health & wellness
Scouts also named a few influences for each purchase. SOURCES THAT INFLUENCED YOUR PURCHASE Seek Sift Surface Stumble friend 30%% store 30%% store 46%% store 58%% store 23%% friend 28%% friend 18%% friend 17%% ecommerce 21%% ecommerce 25%% ecommerce 18%% chance encounter 16%% other 16%% other 16%% chance encounter 13%% other 12%% blog/forum 13%% article/review 15%% other 11%% ecommerce 8%% article/review 13%% blog/forum 14%% blog/forum 10%% ad 7%% ad 10%% chance encounter 10%% article/review 8%% social site 6%% social site 8%% ad 8%% social site 5%% article/review 6%% chance 8%% social site 6%% ad 5%% blog/forum 4%% nothing 5%% nothing 3%% nothing 5%% nothing 4%% classified 1%% classified 2%% classified 3%% classified 0%%
Mostly, scouts characterized (physical) stores and friends as influential social sites, not so much. SOURCES THAT INFLUENCED YOUR PURCHASE Seek Sift Surface Stumble friend 30%% store 30%% store 46%% store 58%% store 23%% friend 28%% friend 18%% friend 17%% ecommerce 21%% ecommerce 25%% ecommerce 18%% chance encounter 16%% other 16%% other 16%% chance encounter 13%% other 12%% blog/forum 13%% article/review 15%% other 11%% ecommerce 8%% article/review 13%% blog/forum 14%% blog/forum 10%% ad 7%% ad 10%% chance encounter 10%% article/review 8%% social site 6%% social site 8%% ad 8%% social site 5%% article/review 6%% chance 8%% social site 6%% ad 5%% blog/forum 4%% nothing 5%% classified 1%% nothing 3%% classified 2%% nothing 5%% classified 3%% nothing 4%% classified 0%%
Ecommerce sites seemed to help most when scouts already had a fairly clear idea of what they wanted to purchase. SOURCES THAT INFLUENCED YOUR PURCHASE Seek Sift Surface Stumble friend 30%% store 30%% store 46%% store 58%% store 23%% friend 28%% friend 18%% friend 17%% ecommerce 21%% ecommerce 25%% ecommerce 18%% chance encounter 16%% other 16%% other 16%% chance encounter 13%% other 12%% blog/forum 13%% article/review 15%% other 11%% ecommerce 8%% article/review 13%% blog/forum 14%% blog/forum 10%% ad 7%% ad 10%% chance encounter 10%% article/review 8%% social site 6%% social site 8%% ad 8%% social site 5%% article/review 6%% chance 8%% social site 6%% ad 5%% blog/forum 4%% nothing 5%% classified 1%% nothing 3%% classified 2%% nothing 5%% classified 3%% nothing 4%% classified 0%%
takeaways 1 Do people seek out or sift through electronics or any category, for that matter because of some fundamental aspect of electronics, or because that s the way the electronics industry targets customers?! We don t know. But we know you should be thinking about it. electronics
takeaways 2(a) Surface Stumble Any way we slice it, online media (including phones) don t have a huge impact on back-ofmind modalities like stumbling and surfacing.! physical 60% digital 40% physical 74% digital 26% In other words, the Internet isn t great at facilitating discovery.
takeaways 2(b) That said, the emergence of planned stumbling (via curated product subscriptions) is beginning to change the landscape of online discovery. This is a dual lip and cheek stain pencil by Mirenesse. It's a great product! It's a bright, bold, long lasting color...i loved it so much that I ordered a second color a few days after trying this one out. I received this as a sample in my monthly Birchbox subscription. It came with a card describing how to use it, and Birchbox also posts great tutorials on many of their product pages...
takeaways 3 friend 30%% social site 8%% A great number of purchases are socially mediated, though not necessarily by online social networks. friend social site 6%% friend social site 5%% 18%% 28%% friend social site 6%% 17%%
takeaways 4 Surface We also suspect that an enormous number of discoveries do not touch the Internet at all.! In other words, our digital metrics aren t really measuring them. back of mind Stumble
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