If you haven’t thought about what time of day you’re engaging your prospects, maybe you should. You could be missing out on opportunities, or missing your prospects entirely, if you don’t, according to a new Harris Interactive survey released today.
The majority of 18- to 34-year-old consumers, 53%, are more likely to make online purchases during work hours, according to the survey of 2,006 adults sponsored by The Search Agency, an online marketing company. A similar percentage of Millennials said daytime was prime-time for browsing social networks, as well. By comparison, 61% of consumers in the 45-54 age group said they were more likely to make purchases in the evening.
“I don’t think all marketers consider day-parting when trying to reach their targets. When it came to display ads on desktops or laptops, it didn’t matter as much,” says Mike Solomon, The Search Agency’s VP of marketing strategy. “But when it comes to mobile, we don’t know where they are when they’re viewing our messages. And where are they in the sales funnel? At the top searching, or at the bottom ready to check out?”
Married people are more likely to own tablets–45% of them as compared to only 36 percent of singles, according to the study. Tablets were by far the most popular second screen in use at home by people ages 35 to 44. More than 80% said they used tablets to get more information about products they viewed while watching television.
“Tablets are more shareable,” Solomon notes. “You can picture a married couple watching TV on the sofa together at night and one handing the other a tablet and saying, ‘Hey, check this out.”
To make things even more challenging for marketers who’d like to know where and when customers are receiving their messages, nearly 60% of all smartphone owners conduct searches on their smartphones while in close proximity to their PCs. The percentage increases to three quarters for Millennials who do the same.
“Where are they when they see your ad? It’s hard to know,” Solomon says. “What marketers can do is to give them options in the ads. Put different shortcuts below the ads. Are you researching? Here’s a link for you. Buying? Here’s another link.”
