62% of Consumers are Poised to Make Purchases With Their Mobile Devices This Holiday Season, According to Survey From Sybase 365 and Mobile Marketing Association

DUBLIN, Calif., Nov. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- More consumers are planning to use their mobile device to make a purchase this holiday season than ever before, according to a joint national survey conducted by Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase Inc., the global leader in mobile messaging and mobile commerce services and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the leading global trade association for the mobile industry.

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The survey of 1,000 consumers found that more than half (62%) would be willing to make a purchase on their mobile device this holiday season if prompted by coupons, discount offers, text alerts, gift cards or loyalty points.  In a similar survey conducted by Sybase 365 a year ago, only 32% of respondents said that mobile incentives would encourage them to make a purchase on their device.

"The results from this survey clearly indicate a growing appetite for mobile commerce services," said John Sims, president of Sybase 365.  "While we still have ground to cover in terms of widespread adoption, the momentum we are seeing provides opportunities for merchants who are seeking to increase revenue and customer retention by offering mobile shopping and incentives. "

In the absence of coupons, discount offers or other enticements suggested above, 56% of consumers surveyed would be likely to use their mobile device for one of the following uses: to find a store location (38%), compare prices (34%), researching deals and coupons (28%), find a product review (27%) or make a purchase (22%).  (EDITOR'S NOTE: Specific percentages shown reflect the fact that some respondents said they were predisposed toward more than one of the categories above.)

Among the key areas where greater adoption inroads stand to be made is the availability of mobile commerce solutions from widely known, trusted channels.  Asked which solution would encourage greater use of mobile payments for holiday shopping, one in four respondents (25%) reported that they would be more likely to make mobile payments if the solution was offered by their financial institution, while 22% would be persuaded by a solution such as PayPal and 18% would be influenced by a solution from a credit card company.  

"With more consumers than ever before planning to make the shift towards mobile this holiday season, it's a clear indication that merchants ignore the mobile commerce wave at their own risk," said Michael Becker, managing director for North America for the Mobile Marketing Association.  "Consumers grasp the value, convenience and flexibility that existing mobile commerce campaigns grant them, and they expect to use their mobile devices more and more. Marketers, brands and retailers that recognize this and work to realize the potential of mobile will have an edge, not only this holiday season, but moving forward."

Merchants have stepped up their efforts to leverage the mobile channel, with 53% of respondents indicating they are aware of existing mobile campaigns from Target, Starbucks, Best Buy, Amazon.com, Apple or Groupon.

"While it's encouraging to see awareness and adoption of mobile commerce services continue to ramp up, widespread adoption among all stakeholders will require more extensive harmonizing of standards in the same way that has fueled the broad proliferation of SMS and MMS technologies," Sims added.

*Sybase, MMA and Opinion Research Corporation, an Infogroup company, make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the data presented, nor assume any liability for any loss or damage resulting from its use.  The sample size of 1,000 carries a margin of error of +/- 3% at a 95% confidence level.  This margin of error would be greater for any subsets of the sample.

The MMA Forum Los Angeles, November 16-17, offers attendees exclusive workshops that provide invaluable information that can immediately impact their businesses. On November 16th, the Forum presents "MoSoLoCo: How Brands Harness Winning Strategies and Tactics", sponsored by Sybase365, which shows participants how to engage customers through the revolutionary combination of Social, Mobile, Local and Commerce (MoSoLoCo). View the agenda for full details.

About Sybase 365

Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. (an SAP company; NYSE: SAP), is the global leader in enabling mobile information services for mobile operators, financial institutions and enterprises. We provide our customers with the widest offering in SMS, MMS, GRX, IPX interoperability, end-to-end mobile commerce solutions, innovative mCRM, mobile marketing and content delivery services. Sybase 365 processes more than 1.8 billion messages per day, reaching  900 operators and 5.2 billion subscribers around the world.

Sybase and Sybase 365 (or other product names mentioned in release), are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sybase, Inc. ® indicates registration in the United States. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association's global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin American (LATAM) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com. For information relating to the MMA's Mobile Marketing Forum series, please visit www.mobilemarketingforum.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

SOURCE Sybase 365; Mobile Marketing Association