Local Corporation (NASDAQ: LOCM), a leading local advertising and technology company, today revealed results from its latest mobile shopper study.

Commissioned by Local Corporation and conducted by the e-tailing group, the latest mobile shopper study, “Unlocking Today’s Mobile Shopper: What Drives Them to Buy,” explored current mobile local shopper behavior, including: what types of shopping apps connected consumers are using and consider most valuable; what types of mobile content drive purchases; and how comfortable consumers are with mobile payments.

“Mobile devices and specifically smartphones continue to play a growing role in driving shoppers through the last mile of the path-to-purchase,” said Michael Sawtell, president and COO, Local Corporation. “Our research reflects that there are many important factors that influence purchase decisions for mobile shoppers, with ratings and reviews remaining a top influencer and rich localized product results gaining influence.”

“Today’s shoppers are not only researching purchase decisions via mobile more often, they are also actually using their smartphones as wallets, with 27 percent of consumers revealing that they have used their smartphone to pay for an in-store purchase,” added Sawtell. “The key takeaway for retailers and brands is that they need to incorporate cross-channel engagement strategies to reach these connected consumers at the right time with the right message to drive them in-store.”

Top influencers for purchase decisions via mobile:

  • Search results listings (50 percent)
  • Peer ratings and reviews (42 percent)
  • Search results showing local availability (31 percent)

Top three most searched categories via mobile when researching a purchase at a local store:

  • Clothing and accessories (50 percent)
  • Consumer electronics (45 percent)
  • Movies/music/video (44 percent)

Significant gaps exist in mobile purchasing patterns by gender:

  • Women are more likely to be influenced to purchase by email (33 percent vs. men at 27 percent)
  • Men are more likely to be influenced to purchase by search results listings (51 percent vs. women at 48 percent)

Mobile payments are gaining ground:

  • 27 percent of consumers have used smartphones to pay for an in-store purchase

The brands that are most trusted by consumers for potential mobile wallets/payments:

  • Visa (24 percent) and PayPal (21 percent) topped the list
  • Apple was not far behind (15 percent)
  • Amazon (13 percent) and American Express (7 percent) rounded out the top five

Shoppers still go to search engines when conducting product research on their mobile device; while research via apps and other websites continues to gain traction:

  • Search engines (73 percent)
  • Specific Sites (33 percent)
  • Apps (24 percent)

The company’s patented Krillion® local shopping platform aggregates dynamic, national and regional retail shopping content, from approximately 120,000 store locations.

The latest version of the company’s Havvit shopping app, powered by Krillion, provides real-time inventory availability and tells shoppers if the product they want is in stock and available at nearby stores. One of the first shopping apps of its kind designed for iOS 7®, Havvit delivers a highly personalized and intuitive shopping experience. Download the Havvit app from iTunes® (http://bit.ly/1d8Y111).

The company will be showcasing the research findings, as well as its Krillion platform and the new version of its Havvit app as a speaker, exhibitor (booth #2418) and sponsor this week at ad:tech San Francisco (booth #2418), March 26-27. Sherry Thomas-Zon, Local Corporation's vice president of local shopping, will present the findings at 3:30 p.m. today during ad:tech in a session titled "Unlocking Today’s Mobile Shopper: What Drives Them to Buy.”

Methodology and Demographics

The online survey of 1,294 consumers was completed in March 2014. All respondents were pre-qualified for smartphone ownership and the sample was made up of 46 percent women and 54 percent men.

The e-tailing group is a Chicago-based consultancy that helps retailers deliver the right customer experience across all channels, while assisting technology companies create and execute go-to-market strategies that simultaneously educate the retail community.

About Local Corporation

Local Corporation (NASDAQ:LOCM) is a leading local advertising and technology company that connects businesses with approximately a million online and mobile consumers each day using a variety of innovative digital advertising products. For more information, visit: http://www.localcorporation.com.

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Forward Looking Statements

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