Rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets and multi-device ownership has complicated the online user path to conversion

 

TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach - April 10, 2018 - Appier, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, published today its 2017 Digital Consumer Behavior Report, providing a roadmap for marketers looking to make sense out of a consumer journey that is fragmented today by multi-device ownership.

 

The report is based on analysis of over 5 trillion data points from Appier-run marketing campaigns across Asia in 2017. It examines device usage online by time of day and during the week and segmented the data by country, gender, age group and industry vertical. These AI-driven insights provide a clearer picture for marketers and help them understand the fragmented consumer journey of their customers in Asia.

 

"Marketers have an incredibly difficult job reaching their target audiences today. The rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets across Asia, including in emerging markets, has led to an incredibly high percentage of multi-device users. These savvy consumers use all their devices in different ways on their digital consumption journey and it can be tricky for marketers to reach them. Appier has been helping our enterprise customers with our AI-powered platforms to bridge the gap to their target customers. Armed with these insights, and with the help of AI, marketers will be in a position to take advantage of these trends," said Fabrizio Caruso, Chief Revenue Officer, Appier.

 

Several key themes emerge from the report:

 

Multi-device ownership is the new normal

 

Multi-device ownership is the new normal in Asia Pacific, even in emerging markets, with 4 or more devices per user the dominant profile. Hong Kong and Taiwan rank at the top for multi-device ownership with Japan and Thailand at the bottom.

 

The more devices a consumer owns, the more his time is split between the devices. Each device plays a different role for every individual. Every individual takes a different path to conversion. Multiply this with the number of countries in Asia, the different genders and age groups and the paths to conversion can get confusing.

 

AI helps marketers see the blind spots

 

One of the biggest blind spots for marketers are consumers who use their devices for completely different purposes. Reaching these users in the most effective, targeted way has traditionally been difficult, but Appier's AI helps map these users and the best ways to reach them. The biggest concentrations of such users come from emerging countries although by country, Australia, Philippines and Taiwan top the list.

 

The holy grail: conversion paths

 

Perhaps the most important role that AI can help marketers is to predict the best path to conversion, which Appier's data helps identify. The path with the highest click through rate across Asia was first tablet, then click activity on the smartphone and conversion on the smartphone. The data also showed that the PC continues to play an important role in the consumer journey featuring the most in the top five conversion paths across the region.

 

AI-driven cross-screen campaigns drive higher conversions

 

On average, AI-driven cross-screen campaigns resulted in 150 per cent more conversions than single-screen campaigns. Consumers using three devices or more in their consumer journey delivered 400 per cent conversions than single-screen consumers. These figures highlight the benefits of AI to marketers.(*)