News tagged mobile
Let Your Fingers Do The Shopping
November 30th, 2011Mobile media is playing a significant role this year in the holiday buying cycle. According to the IBM Smarter Commerce benchmark of online retail activity, mobile platforms were responsible for 14.3% of all online shopping traffic on Black Friday, more than doubling the 5.6% of traffic IBM recorded last year. Perhaps even more impressive, sales from mobile devices reached 9.8% of digital retail transactions, tripling the 3.2% of last year. That’s 300% growth, friends!
I Have the App, and I’m Not Afraid to Use It
November 3rd, 2011“There’s an app for that” has become part of the cultural mainstream. In fact, there are apps for banking, learning Chinese, finding Chinese food, playing Scrabble, and a host of other activities. In fact, people are downloading apps more than ever.
The share of adult cellphone owners who have downloaded an app nearly doubled in the past two years –from 22% in September 2009 to 38% in August 2011 – according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
Still, only about half of U.S. adults with cellphones have apps on their phones, and only about one in four cellphone owners age 18 or older has ever paid for an app, whose prices typically start at about one dollar.
Key Findings:
- The most commonly downloaded apps are those that provide regular updates about everyday information such as news, weather, sports, or stocks (74% of downloaders)
- Also popular are apps that help people communicate with friends and family (67%) and apps that help the user learn about something in which they are interested (64%)
Interestingly, the survey found only two-thirds of people with apps on their phones ever use them.
“While mobile apps are a fairly new approach to accessing online content, the main functions they fill for users are the same we’ve seen with previous technologies—namely, information gathering and communication,” notes Kristen Purcell, author of the report and Associate Director for Research at Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. “It’s too early to know if, by providing instant, direct connections to information, apps are a game changer. While they are a significant change from using search engines and web browsers, the basic functions apps fill are not revolutionary.”
These findings are from a survey conducted from July 25-August 26 among 2,260 adults ages 18 and over, including surveys in English and Spanish and on both land-line and cellphones. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Teens Like to Text. kthxlol:)
June 11th, 2011As you know we are Nielsen data junkies. For those of you who did not see the study…and we are sure this is of no surprise… US teens age 13-17 sent and received an average of 8% more text messages in Q2 2010 than in Q2 2009.
Alert the Press, Teen Girls Text More Than Teen Boys
Teens age 13-17 sent and received an average of 3,339 monthly text messages in Q2 2010, 8% more than Q2 2009 and more than six per waking hour.
No one texts more than teens (age 13-17), especially teen females, who send and receive an average of 4,050 texts per month. Teen males also outpace other male age groups, sending and receiving an average of 2,539 texts. Young adults (age 18-24) come in a distant second, exchanging 1,630 texts per month (a comparatively meager three texts per hour).
Remember When Cell Phones Were to be Used “In Case of Emergency”?
Texting is the main reason teens get a cell phone, with 43% claiming it is their primary reason for getting one. Safety, which was the main teen reason for getting a phone in 2008, is now less important. It is secondary among girls and less so among boys. Keeping in touch with friends is still one of the top three factors, too.
Overall, percentages of teens citing specific reasons for obtaining a cell phone did not greatly vary between Q2 2009 and Q2 2010.
This is Not Your Parents’ Buick
Tracking use of voice telephony by age group, voice usage declined in every age bracket younger than 55 between Q2 2009 and Q2 2010. It slightly increased among the 55-to-64-year-old and 65 and older demographics.
Voice activity has decreased 14% among teens, who average 646 minutes talking on the phone per month. Teen females, who are more social with their phones, average about 753 minutes per month, while males use around 525 minutes.
Another Shocker: Teens Like Apps
While teen usage of mobile data and applications does not reach levels of activity seen by young adults, it has increased substantially since Q2 2009, growing from 14 MB to 62 MB. This fourfold increase is the largest jump among all age groups. Much of this boost is led by males, who are more gadget-savvy and consume 75 MB of data, compared to 17 MB in Q2 2009. Teen females use about 53 MB of data, compared to 11 MB a year ago.
Teens are not only using more data, but they are also downloading a wider range of applications. Software downloads among teen subscribers who use apps enjoyed a solid 46% increase in activity, from 26% to 38%. This includes popular apps such as Facebook, Pandora or YouTube.
Usage of the mobile web has also surpassed activity on pre-installed games, ringtone downloads and instant messaging. Other mobile activities like mail and text alerts have also seen significant growth.
Teens Text 5x More Than Adults
Teens ages 12-17 send and receive a median of five times more texts per day than adult texters, according to recent data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Slightly more than half (51%) of adults who text send one to 10 texts per day, compared to 22% of teens.
The percentages of texting adults and teens who send 11-20 and 21-50 average daily texts are fairly similar. Where teens begin to outpace adults is in the percentage who send 51-100 average texts daily (18% to 7%), and more notably in the percentage who send 101-plus average texts daily (29% to 8%).
Ultimately, adults who text typically send and receive a median of 10 texts a day; teens who text send and receive a median of 50 texts per day.
Laptops Are SO 2010
June 11th, 2011Each year it is like Christmas when we can review the Pew Research’s study on how American’s connect to the interwebs. One of the most exciting changes in this year’s report was showing that a higher percentage of US adults own a mobile phone than those who own a computer.
We Love Our Phones
85% of Americans now own a cell phone.
Cell phone ownership rates among young adults have reached 96% of 18-to-29 year olds.
Meanwhile, three-quarters (76%) of Americans own either a desktop or laptop computer.
Since 2006, laptop ownership has grown dramatically (from 30% to 52%) while desktop ownership has declined slightly.
But Less than Half of us Love Our MP3 Players
Ownership rates of other popular gadgets among US adults do not reach 50%.
Slightly less than half (47%) of American adults own an MP3 player such as an iPod.
This represents a nearly five-fold increase from the 11% who owned this type of device in early 2005.
Console gaming devices like the Xbox and PlayStation are nearly as common as mp3 players, as 42% of Americans own a home gaming device.
Parents (64%) are nearly twice as likely as non-parents (33%) to own a game console.
Per the Usual, Early Adopters are Biggest Lovers of the Newest Devices
Compared with the other devices on this list, e-book readers (such as the Kindle) and tablet computers (such as the iPad) are relatively new arrivals to the consumer technology scene, and are owned by a relatively modest number of Americans.
However, these devices are proving popular with traditional early adopter groups such as the affluent and highly educated. Ownership rates for tablets and e-book readers among college graduates and those earning $75,000 or more per year are roughly double the national averages of 5% and 4%, respectively.
Most of Us Have Them All… well, most of them
Eight in 10 American adults (78%) own two or more of these devices, and the median adult owns three of the seven gadgets we asked about in our survey. Among other factors, device ownership is highly correlated with age.
For example, the typical adult younger than age 45 owns four devices, while the typical adult between the ages of 55 and 64 owns two and the typical senior (age 65 or older) owns just one. Those with high levels of income and education are also more likely to own a relatively large number of devices compared with those with lower income and education levels.
I Am Not Some Sort Of Crazy Coupon Clipper! But I Do Love My Mobile Phone Coupons…
June 11th, 2011Here at world headquarters, we have been following consumer’s increasing use of mobile phone couponing. The report released by Retail Connections shows some amazing consumer metrics. Nearly 80% US mobile phone users currently uses or will use mobile text coupons within 24 months.
Text Coupons Most Popular Retail-Related Consumer Mobile Activity
Looking at a variety of retail-related consumer mobile activities, text coupons lead both in terms of current engagement (25%) and planned engagement in the next 12 months (47%). Probably due to the high percentage of consumers who will already be using mobile text coupons within 12 months, planned engagement within 12 to 24 months is only 9%, tied for second-lowest with consumer self-checkout.
The other two retail-related consumer mobile activities currently used by more than 20% of mobile phone subscribers are regular barcode (22%) and 2D barcode (21%). Coupons on mobile screen only have 16% current engagement, but 38% planned engagement within the next 12 months, second only to text coupons in this category.
iPhone/iPod Most Supported Consumer Mobile Platform by Wide Margin
Study data indicates 85% of US retailers support consumer use of the iPhone/iPod platform, and 88% plans to do so in the future. This current support rate dwarfs the 55% support of the next-most-popular consumer mobile platform among retailers, the iPad platform. However, 72% of retailers plan to support consumer iPad use in the future.
While only 50% of retailers currently support consumer use of the Android platform, 79% plan to support it in the future. Windows Mobile has 43% current support and 53% planned support, while Blackberry has slightly lower current support (40%) but slightly higher future support (58%).
4 in 10 Retailers Support Store Associate Blackberry Platform
Retailers display different preferences for supporting mobile platform use by their employees, and at much lower percentages. Part of the reason for this lower level of support may be the higher cost involved in supplying store associates with mobile devices, as opposed to letting consumers use their own devices in the store.
The iPhone/iPod and Windows Mobile platforms are tied for second place with 42% current support. However, 67% of retailers plan future iPhone/iPod support, while only 41% plan future Windows Mobile support, implying a small number of retailers currently supporting employee use of Windows Mobile devices plan to end it.
Android only has 26% current support, but comparatively high 41% planned future support. Windows CE/7 also has 26% current support, but similar to Windows Mobile planned future support for this platform dips to 22%.
Texting Most Popular Mobile Plan Feature
Perhaps explaining the popularity of text coupons, more than nine in 10 mobile phone owners (94%) have text included in their phone plan. This makes texting by far the most popular feature of US consumer mobile phone plans. Other popular features include email (80%) and mobile web (78%).
Consumers See Their Smartphones…as, Well, Smart n’ Stuff.
June 10th, 2011With mobile marketing becoming an ever increasing part of the marketing mix, we were pleased to see the rapid growth of the Smartphone market. In late 2010, consumers accessing browsers via their smartphones surpassed those of non-smartphone users.
In August 2010, 75.6 million mobile subscribers ages 13 and older used downloaded applications, with Smartphone users representing 60.4%, up 38.5% from 43.6% in August 2009. For the same period, 80.8 million mobile subscribers used their browser, with smartphone subscribers comprising 55.5%, up 34% from 41.4% a year ago.
Making this rapid growth more impressive is the fact that Smartphones still make up less than a quarter of the U.S. mobile market, according to ComScore.
Women and Youth Key to Smartphone Growth
In August 2010, males accounted for 56% of Smartphone subscribers who used downloaded applications or browsers. Females, however, are narrowing the gap with the remaining 44%, representing a 14.3% increase compared to 38.5% in the corresponding August 2009 period.
Among the various age segments, 13-to-17-year-olds are exhibiting the strongest growth in using downloaded apps or browsers, up 25.4% from 5.5% to 6.9% of the audience. Persons aged 18-24 are also accelerating adopters of app/browser usage, representing 16.7 percent of the audience, a 3.7% increase from 16.1% a year ago.
And What Are People Using Their Smartphone For: Search, Weather, Maps, SocNets Weather, maps and social networking represented the top content categories accessed through downloaded applications in August 2010, used by more than one-third of US smartphone subscribers. Social networking applications were used by 30%, while search and news applications were used by 18%.
Search was the most popular category accessed through browsers, reaching 54% of the Smartphone audience. 43% of Smartphone subscribers accessed social networking sites via browser, followed by news (40%), weather (36%) and sports information (32%).
#1 Applications: Games…but You Already Knew That.
Games are the most-downloaded mobile applications among both smartphone and feature phone users, according to different mobile app data from Nielsen. Games continue to be the most popular category by far, with 61% of smartphone owners and 52% of feature phone owners reporting downloading a games app in the past 30 days in August 2010. Weather apps are the next most popular category, downloaded by 55% of smartphone users and 39% of feature phone users.
I’d Like My Local News To Go, Please….
March 30th, 2011A new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that half (47%) of all U.S. adults get at least some local news and information on their phone or tablet.
According to Pew, they are looking for info that serves an immediate need, such as:
Weather: 42%
Local restaurants and other businesses: 37%
General local news: 30%
Local sports scores and updates: 24%
Local traffic and transportation: 22%
Local coupons and discounts: 19%
News alerts: 15%
Usage seems to skew toward entertainment, while more grassroots news on community events, schools, political and cultural events don’t make the list.
Mobile Marketing Popularity Rapidly Grows
May 17th, 2010For 2010 Mobile marketing is posed to make great strides in both brand acceptance and consumer interaction.
Unica recently surveyed ad agencies and brands about their current and future use of mobile marketing. They found that 33% of brands currently use mobile tactics to reach/communicate with their consumers. Another 24% said their company plans to use mobile tactics within the next 12 months, and 13% said they will use mobile tactics in more than the next 12 months.
Only 20% said their company has no plans to use mobile marketing tactics, and another 10% don’t know. This means the combined percentage of respondents whose companies definitely or possibly will not use mobile marketing tactics (30%) is smaller than the percentages of respondents who currently use them (33%) or will use them within the next 12 months or longer (a combined 57%).
Broken down by region, more European respondents said their company currently uses mobile marketing tactics (37%) than North American respondents (29%), reflecting Europe’s more advanced and entrenched mobile infrastructure.
More than 100% growth in adoption
Looking at specific mobile marketing channel usage and adoption rates, the use of the three major mobile marketing channels of SMS/MMS/WAP, mobile websites, and mobile applications should all roughly double in the next 12 months.
Mobile Devices Becoming More Popular, More Affordable
The popularity of mobile marketing tactics has been rapidly growing as the popularity of smartphones, 3G devices and other advanced mobile applications surged in the US during 2009, according to comScore mobiLens data.
Between December 2008 and December 2009, the percentage of US mobile phone subscribers with unlimited data plans increased from 16% to 21%. During the same period, smartphone ownership increased from 11% to 17%, while 3G phone ownership increased from 32% to 43% among smartphone users.
The clear take-away here is with an increase of bandwidth and with advanced mobile devices becoming more affordable, the stage is set for brands to begin to experiment, test and deploy mobile efforts in 2010.