Hello! As a new data science analyst at Forrester, I am thrilled to lead analysis of and insights from Forrester’s Mobile Audience Data (MAD). Although my expertise covers most areas of data science, I have a distinct passion for network and text analytics and custom algorithms that unlock the stories behind the data. I most recently worked in the multilateral development space, where I used data science to map the connections of internal and external communications in order to help guide country and sector strategies. I am incredibly excited to use the power and creativity of data science with our clients at Forrester.

My first report analyzes consumers’ reliance on smartphones in their daily routines. Look back over your past week or, better yet, your past month. Can you remember a single morning when you did not look at your smartphone during the first few minutes after waking up? I can’t. Smartphones’ omnipresence in our morning routines means that we can learn a lot from our use of our mobile devices during these early hours of the day. Because we are creatures of habit, we tend to access the same apps and websites in the morning, day in and day out.

For example, look at the most popular apps that US consumers access first thing in the morning. The most-used apps allow consumers to wake up and check on their social lives: 15% of the time, US consumers wake up and check their email. In fact, the clock, email, messaging, and Facebook account for 40% of all early-morning device behaviors.

However, we uncovered something interesting for retailers: More than a quarter of all mobile users began their morning with a shopping app at least once over an eight-month period. And when these occasional morning shoppers start their day by shopping, we found that they will continue to shop during the rest of the morning. What does this mean? Marketers have an opportunity to engage their customers in these valuable mobile moments. Read my report to take a deeper dive in the data and find out what this means for marketers.