Survey: Most dads want mobile offer alerts

San Francisco -- A new U.S. study conducted online by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Placecast showed that fathers use their mobile phones to save money.



The Wave IV poll in the Alert Shopper series of research revealed that 58% of American dads with smartphones said they had taken action on a promotion or coupon received on their phones, outpacing moms and those without kids.



According to the findings from this study, “Digital Dads” (those with smartphones and kids under 18 in the household) are emerging as a powerful segment for marketers to connect with. Not only are “Mobile Moms” finding ways to save money using their phones; now, Digital Dads are finding real value in checking their phones for offers from brands they like, and are more likely than others to opt-in to location-based offers and share deals with friends.



“At first we were surprised to see how interested fathers are in getting offers on their phones – but it really makes sense, because men from 18-34 have historically been early adopters to new tech, and those ages overlap with the dad demographic,” says Placecast CEO Alistair Goodman.



Other report highlights include:

• Seven out of 10 (69%) dads who have smartphones and don’t already receive mobile alerts say they are at least somewhat interested in receiving them from merchants on their phones (provided it was opt-in), while 60% of mobile moms said the same, as did just over four out of 10 (42%) of those without kids in the household.

• Dads are more likely to take action on a mobile offer than moms; 58% of dads surveyed said they had taken action on a promotion or coupon received on their phones, compared to 46% of moms, and just 31% of those without kids in the household.

• Over half (53%) of the Digital Dads who are at least somewhat interested or already receive alerts said they would recommend the store to others, compared to just under half of the moms (48%) and 35% of those without kids in the household.

• Four out of 5 Digital Dads and Mobile Moms would find location-based mobile offers at least somewhat useful, with dads having a very slight lead - 81% of dads versus 79% of moms. Parents are significantly more interested in the convenience of local offers than those without kids in the household, of which 55% said that local mobile alerts would be useful.

• 55% of Dads have a tablet, compared to 39% of moms and just 30% of those without kids in the household.

“We know that men in the Millennial group (18 – 34) are taking on broader responsibilities in parenting, not the least of which is shopping for their families,” said Kathryn Koegel, chief of insights at Primary Impact, the research consultancy that analyzed the Harris Interactive data. “We always used to speak of women as the primary household shopper and heavy user of coupons, but as the Alert Shopper IV attests to, mobile devices are their activation point. Dads today are researching, responding to and redeeming all manner of promotions via their phones and tablets.”