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Dec. 7, 2008

Data from Americans’ online shopping behavior reflect that major marketing campaigns mounted by some wireless carriers translate into intense interest in new and cutting-edge mobile devices.

Witness Research In Motion Ltd.’s new BlackBerry Storm handset... The new SmartPhone captured a greater share of online shopping interest at Verizon Wireless in the week ending Nov. 30 than Apple's iPhone did at AT&T Mobility or other rivals.

Elaine Warner, director for telecommunications Compete, which measures consumers’ online shopping behavior says “that is an impressive accomplishment for any device in the U.S. or anywhere else. RIM's new Storm mobile handset got an impressive lift from the Thanksgiving and Black Friday holidays.”

But the Storm hit store shelves only Nov. 21 and, therefore its advertising and marketing campaign was fresh and still compelling enough when shoppers eschewed more turkey to go shopping.

Despite widespread complaints about various aspects of RIM’s first touchscreen device, demand exceeded supply and those left waiting will not receive their units until mid-December.

Overall, the Storm doubled its interest among consumers, 300,000 of whom researched the device last week, according to Warner.

Additionally, about 260,000 researched the iPhone at AT&T Mobility. Only about 60,000 shoppers were interested in the HTC G1 at T-Mobile USA Inc.

“The iPhone is still prevailing over time, and it’s still a monster, I would say,” added Warner.

Warner's observation was made from analyzis from data compiled by Compete.

For example, overall consumer interest in the iPhone grew fast upon its announcement last June, then spiked again three weeks later, upon launch.

On average, consumer interest about the iPhone remains fairly constant to this day.

The data still shows a long tail that barely diminished since the iPhone was launched by Apple on July 31.

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    This article was featured on Business 5.0 and on Tech Blog.

Source: Compete.