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#CONNECTsummit14: Smartphones are 'remote control for life'

Smartphones are the "remote control for life," especially for Millennials.

August 21, 2014 by

Smartphones are the "remote control for life," especially for Millennials, according to Mark McGuire, vice president of research for Gartner.

Gartner shared the observation, which he attributed to another source, during the opening session for the CONNECT Mobile Innovation Summit. McGuire was part of a larger panel on the future of mobile relationships that also included presentations by Jack Philbin of Vibes and James Lux with restaurant brand Cosi.

According to McGuire's research:

• Sales of mobile device units represented $13 billion in revenue in 2013. Gartner foresees that will go up to $42 billion in 2018.
• 71 percent of smartphone users in developed countries use their phone five times a day, on average.
• In the United States, 22 percent of digital commerce revenue is coming from mobile.
• 86 percent of mobile users use their device while they are consuming other media.
• Average time spent using a mobile device varies drastically by type: The average smartphone session lasts 47 minutes, while tablet users are pinching and swiping for an average of 59 minutes. By contrast, the typical session on a desktop or laptop computer is around 90 minutes.

Given the ubiquity and rapid adoption of mobile, marketers would be well served to not simply think mobile first, but mobile always, said McGuire. Marketers must focus on making effective use of mobile tools — apps, text messaging, beacons, geofencing, mobile websites — that keep customers' needs first.

Marketers often think of mobile as "just another channel," when it's actually more of a discipline that cuts across all channels.

"Anytime you do mobile, it's about reducing complexity, it's about reducing friction," McGuire said. "It isn't just a channel — it's a link between the online and offline world. And the link point, the device the consumer has, is an incredibly important tool for them." 

McGuire likened the customer's path to purchase as a hive rather than a straight line. Thanks to mobile devices, customers move from social to Web to offline to mobile as they navigate the decision-making process, much like a bee bounces from flower to flower.