Event Summary: Mobile First or Mobile Only

Consumers are increasingly shifting to mobile devices to access e-commerce sites. What are the implications for insurance, banking and the FS sector as a whole? Alex Reidegeld of The Financial Services Forum finds out.

The rise of the mobile device across all sectors and age groups is astounding. But what was clear from today’s discussion is that the successful implementation of a mobile-first approach is not as easy as it sounds.

The rise of mobile

• 66% of digital time is spent on mobile devices, compared to 34% desktop
• 43% of insurance-related searches are on a mobile device, with 13% year-on-year growth since 2016
• Car, Home, Travel, Life and Pet Insurance (in that order) are most likely to be searched on a mobile device
• Sharp increase in 55-75-year olds using mobile devices in the period 2012-2017, so it’s not just younger people who prefer mobile
• About 70% of 55-75-year olds have a smartphone and 60% own a tablet
• 80% of users use multiple devices, including a mix of desktop and mobile, to find out about insurance products

Challenges for marketers

• Poor Performance: 47% abandon a site on mobile if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds, equating to a 7% drop in revenue for every 1 second delay
• Outdated tracking methods: Cookies do not work across multiple devices, which means marketers can’t get an overview of the different touchpoints before a sale is closed (remember, 80% of users use multiple devices)
• Focus on “Last Click”: Sales are often closed on a desktop device, which means mobile is underperforming on paper.
• Only 6% of marketers say they have a single, adequate view of their customers

Possible Solutions

• Move beyond cookies: User log-in via Facebook, Google etc allows tracking across devices
• Algorithms based on non-PII (personal identifiable information) public information, such as device type or IP address, can approximate device links

Key Takeaway

• If using a mobile approach, focus on speed and performance
• Try to measure the full customer journey across all touchpoints

Thank you to our speakers:

Craig Walmsley, Senior Director of Design Strategy, Publicis.Sapient
Sophie Evans, Senior Strategic Sales Manager – EMEA, Unruly
Yanina Vidal, Industry Manager, Google