As mobile continues to hit the mainstream, our approaches to information discovery are rapidly evolving along with our buying habits. A recent study conducted by IDC Research and YP found that only 36% of online desktop and mobile users initiated a local business search on a traditional search engine. Moreover, approximately 80% of study participants said they own smartphones, a figure which roughly mirrors overall US smartphone penetration.
Today’s smartphone-toting consumers are relying on new ways to find local businesses, which may include recommendations from social networks, customer reviews social-local apps like Yelp, retargeted ads from business websites previously visited, and increasingly, opt-in push notifications containing mobile coupons and promotions triggered by beacons and geofences from nearby businesses…
