RetailTechNews’ weekly roundup brings you up-to-date research findings from around the world. In this week’s edition: Search-Query Language & Purchase Intent; Overconfidence in Productivity Is Hampering Retail Firms’ Performance; and Mobile Ascending (still).

Search-Query Language & Purchase Intent

Searchers with high purchase intent are 180% more likely to click on results with concrete words, like 'shop', while searchers with browsing intent are 20% more likely to click on results with abstract words, like 'best', according to Performics and Northwestern University.

The study also finds that participants with concrete words in their search query were 135% more likely to click on retailer search results (vs non-retailer results, where they’re not able to buy immediately).

As part of the study, Performics ran three live ad campaigns in the beauty products category, bidding on keywords with various levels of concreteness: 'how' (most abstract); 'best' (abstract); and 'buy' (concrete). The study found a 17% increase in likelihood to click when matching concrete/abstract search keywords with the ad.

“Search isn’t just a marketing channel for brands. It’s also a behavioural insights machine. Search-query language uncovers consumer signals that can inform media planning and optimisation in search marketing and beyond”, noted Esteban Ribero, SVP planning & insights at Performics. “Our study proves that marketers who identify the mindset of consumers by their search queries, and match ads and experiences accordingly, will increase performance.”

Overconfidence in Productivity Is Hampering Retail Firms’ Performance

The vast majority of retail bosses invest little time in making their businesses run better, according to Be the Business. This is despite the fact that three-quarters (75%) of retail bosses surveyed believe their business is as productive or more productive than their peers, demonstrating a level of confidence close to the UK average of 79%.

Over a quarter (28%) of all SME businesses surveyed have never evaluated their business practices to identify areas of improvement. Retail bosses cited lack of time as the biggest reason for not adopting best practices in their business (28% agreed), while 15% don’t know where to go or who to talk to for advice; and a further 8% don’t know what best practice looks like for their business.

More generally across the UK, small business owners (fewer than 50 employees) are more humble than their larger competition. While three-quarters (77%) of small business leaders rate their performance as equal to or better than their peers, 87% of medium-size businesses (50-249 employees) feel the same.

Mobile Ascending (still)

Almost a quarter (24%) of all media consumption across the world will be mobile this year, up from just 5% in 2011, according to Zenith’s 'Media Consumption Forecasts 2018'.

By 2020 we expect this proportion to reach 28%, as mobile internet takes share from almost all other media. The rise of mobile is also forcing brands to transform the way they plan their communications across media, focusing less on channels and more on consumer mindset, as the distinctions between channels are eroded.

The rapid expansion of mobile internet use has increased the amount of time the average individual spends consuming media, by giving people access to essentially unlimited content almost everywhere, and at any time of day. We estimate that the average person will spend 479 minutes a day consuming media this year, 12% more than in 2011. We forecast the total to reach 492 minutes a day in 2020.

The consumer shift to mobile also has significant ramifications for retailers, who need to optimise their mobile efforts across web and app, if they want to maintain their customer base and awareness. This content was originally published in RetailTechNews.