It may come as no surprise that the number of mobile users has never been higher than it is today. In fact, as of 2021, there were 5.22 billion unique mobile phone users around the world. This rapid adoption of mobile technology has had far spanning effects on every industry and sector, transforming commerce, customer service, leisure, and so much more.
Museums and cultural organizations are no strangers to the rise of mobile technology. Whether through optimizing their websites for mobile traffic, offering immersive app-based tours, switching to mobile-wallet native digital membership cards, or experimenting with augmented reality, the cultural industry has already engaged with mobile technology in myriad ways.
However, the mobile landscape, and related consumer behavior, are evolving rapidly. Right now, factors like the expansion of 5G networks, booming e-commerce industry, and fresh potential of SMS marketing hold great promise for the cultural sector, and may have a defining impact on museums in the years to come.
Read on to discover six mobile technology trends that could shape the future of cultural organizations.
1. Accelerated Consumer Adoption of the Mobile Wallet
Since 2020, we’ve witnessed a rapid increase in the number of consumers using mobile wallets. According to Digital Virgo, COVID-19 was the catalyst for this, causing “digital wallets, mobile payments and alternative convenient payments to become the norm.” Mobile wallets are expected to become the most popular in-store payment method, and we can anticipate that mobile wallet adoption will reach 75% by 2025.
For museums and cultural institutions, mobile wallets hold enormous potential. For example, hundreds of institutions are already using digital membership cards, which offer members convenient access to their membership benefits and facilitate contactless exchanges.
Digital wallets can also power digital tickets for admissions and special events. While mobile wallet ticketing is still relatively novel territory for museums, in adjacent industries, it has become commonplace. Take, for example, tourism and travel. Most major airlines, bus, train, and hospitality companies offer mobile tickets. Mobile ticketing has also become the norm across the sports and entertainment sectors. Companies like Eventbrite, StubHub, and Ticketmaster have all spearheaded mobile ticketing technology to offer customers the ultimate convenience of purchasing, saving, and reselling tickets via their mobile device.
As mobile wallets rise to become the most popular form of in-store payments, cultural organizations may also consider equipping themselves to accept these types of mobile payments, which offer convenience, contactless options, and streamlined service.
2. Mobile-Optimized Sites and Experiences
Since the pandemic, the percentage of cultural organizations patrons who rely on online information from institutions’ websites and social media has spiked. According to the most recent Fall 2021 data by market researcher Colleen Dilenschnieder, since end-of-year 2019, there has been a 31% increase in the percentage of people who visited an exhibit-based organization’s website, and a 43% increase in people following an organization on social media.
What does this have to do with mobile? In the years to come, many users will no longer be using their desktop computers to browse the web and social media – now, mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. Beyond that, 83% of mobile users expect a flawless experience whenever they visit a website with any mobile device.
With this in mind, we can expect to see many cultural organizations working hard to improve their mobile user experience by optimizing their sites and online engagement opportunities for smartphones.
3. Rapid Expansion of 5G Networks
If you have spent any amount of time scrolling social media or skimming news headlines, you’ve likely heard the buzz about 5G. As of 2022, all major U.S. carriers now have nationwide 5G deployments covering at least 200 million people, with T-Mobile in the lead covering over 310 million people.
This new mobile infrastructure opens up many possibilities for museums. One of the greatest benefits of 5G is its low latency, reliability, and ultra-high speeds, which can power truly seamless mixed reality experiences at cultural sites. While virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are already familiar technologies for a handful of museums, the introduction of the 5G network could greatly increase the feasibility of implementing such experiences at scale by eliminating limited bandwidth problems and geographical issues. According to Forbes, “A reliable 5G network will help VR and AR applications evolve to the next level. Some even say the future of immersive technology is reliant on the 5G network.”
With that in mind, 5G may also enable immersive possibilities beyond mixed reality. According to Verizon 5G Labs, this new infrastructure will serve as the “IT backbone for a host of new technologies and creative presentation methods” in museums and cultural organizations. These could include interactive stories, digital pop-ups, 3D scenes and soundscapes, and simulations that “you can activate on command with a flick of the wrist.”
Outside the four walls of a museum, 5G may also be essential to powering remote engagement with cultural entities. For example, a new sphere known as “remote tourism” has emerged in Europe, which, according to Verizon, “relies on the impact of 5G to power visits to foreign cities and dip into museums and galleries from thousands of miles away (and have the ability to access robotic helpers on-site).”
Thus, as museums continue to find ways to serve the geographically far-flung audiences they activated during the pandemic era, 5G could be the key to offering compelling remote experiences as well.
4. Enhanced Multi-Channel Engagement Opportunities through SMS
Museums are no strangers to digital channels, particularly since 2020, when online communications became indispensable tools to capture audiences’ attention in a suddenly virtual world. Today, the majority of museums utilize email, online newsletters, and social media to communicate with their visitors, members, and donors. However, as organizations compete for the limited time and attention of their constituents, finding the right channels to deploy messaging is crucial. That’s where mobile technology can be of service.
In 2022, an increasing number of brands are deploying SMS or text messages to reach their users. According to Charles Golvin, a Research Director at leading global advisory firm Gartner, SMS is an “effective, yet underutilized, mobile tactic among marketing leaders and is particularly valuable when used in conjunction with mobile techniques such as wallet, web and native applications to orchestrate a deepening level of customer engagement.”
The data certainly backs this up: 91% of consumers would opt-in for text messages from brands and 34% of people read their messages within five minutes of receiving, making SMS one of the most effective ways to grab your audience’s attention.
If you’re wondering if this also is applicable to museums and nonprofits, you’re in luck! The 2021 Benchmarks Study put forth by a national nonprofit communications firm M+R demonstrates that at cultural organizations, mobile message click-through rates were 6.3% for fundraising messages and 10% for advocacy messages, which is far higher than comparable email metrics.
As museums look to reach their audiences consistently and effectively, it might just be worth looking into SMS this year!
5. Seamless E-Commerce through Mobile Platforms
While e-commerce has been on the rise for decades, in recent years, mobile e-commerce has taken off. As of 2021, 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device. By the end of 2021, 73% of all e-commerce sales were made through mobile.
How might museums dive into the world of mobile commerce?
To begin with, many organizations have pioneered online versions of their gift shops, such as the Smithsonian Store, the Art Institute of Chicago Museum’s shop, and the Met Shop. In 2022 and beyond, organizations are focusing not only on offering online shopping options for visitors, but ensuring these online stores are mobile-friendly.
Mobile e-commerce also holds a great deal of untapped potential for museums and cultural institutions to streamline ticket purchases, convert more members, and prompt more online giving. Unfortunately, the 2021 M+R Benchmarks Study revealed that while mobile visitors generated half of all web traffic, they made 35% of the donations and accounted for 25% of the revenue. In other words, while mobile visitors are increasing, they are not becoming donors! This suggests that cultural organizations may want to closely evaluate how they can optimize the mobile experience to yield higher conversion from online visitors into members and supporters.
6. Driving Footfall (and Revenue!) with Location-Based Marketing
Location-based marketing is an approach that allows brands to engage with users or visitors based on their real-time location. According to Forbes, location-based marketing technologies are “one of the most effective ways brick-and-mortar retailers can capture the audiences visiting their locations and ensure that they are reaching the right audiences at the right time.” In fact, Salesforce research indicates that 53% of shoppers visited a retailer after receiving a location-based message. With all of its benefits, 95% of global companies are already using location-based services.
Location-based marketing holds great promise for museums. One variety is geofencing, which allows you to establish a virtual fence around specific locations. This can enable museums to target potential onsite visitors by delivering highly curated ads on social media and within their mobile browsers when they pass nearby.
Beyond this, geo-targeting through a mobile tool like Digital Membership Cards can help organizations send personalized messages directly to their members when they’re in the vicinity. → Learn more
Last but not least, proximity marketing onsite, particularly through beacon technology, can trigger notifications that appear on the visitor's phone as they wander around your venue, improving wayfinding, promoting your cafe or gift shop as visitors approach, and prompting them to join or donate before they exit. In sum, beacons offer unmatched potential for personalization – delivering the right message, in the right place, and the right time. For this reason, the 2020 Global Location Trends Report noted that 79% of North American marketers are already using Beacon-based proximity marketing.
While museums are only beginning to deploy location-based engagement tactics, as they seek cutting-edge ways to activate visitors and members, we can anticipate a steady adoption of geo-targeting and beacon technology by cultural organizations in the years to come.
As smartphone adoption continues to accelerate, and businesses large and small embrace the “mobile-first” mantra, it’s crucial for museums and cultural institutions to examine how they can adapt to this changing technology landscape. By leveraging burgeoning communication tools like SMS and proximity marketing, riding the 5G wave, and optimizing the visitor experience for mobile, museums can ensure they are equipped to meet the needs of today’s patrons.
Looking to learn more about how mobile solutions can help you drive visitor and member engagement? Schedule a demo with Cuseum.