Smartphone and Mobile App Usage Patterns

mobile app

Ten years ago people used cell phones to make phone calls and send text messages and that was about it, but with the modern smart phone, usage indicates much different patterns of behavior on how this communications device is utilized.

Smartphone usage in many ways mirrors daily activities. Social networks and game playing are the two busiest components of daily mobile app interaction.  comScore research shows that 37% of all U.S. mobile users accessed social networks via mobile applications on their phones in May of this year and that a full 34% of all U.S. mobile consumers played games. Both of these numbers are double digit increases over what we were seeing two years ago.

TIP! Time spent with mobile apps has doubled in the past year so an investment in mobile apps will yield a solid ROI.

Nielsen states that the minutes spent per month on mobile apps more than doubled from March 2011 to March 2012. Most of the time-consuming mobile activities such as games and social networks are accessed through mobile apps. In contrast to this their study shows that time spent on the mobile web was basically flat in terms of growth. Nielsen found that users are spending more time using mobile apps than on the mobile web with 73 percent of the time last year spent on apps. Ericsson ConsumerLab has determined that 69 percent of smartphone owners use apps daily.

One area that really stands out and is literally exploding in the United States is mobile commerce. It is expected to be a $10 billion industry this year, up from $6 billion in 2010. Nielsen research points out that 89% of smartphone owners have used their phone while shopping in stores. Smartphone users use mobile applications in a variety of different ways when it comes to retail, they access digital coupons, engage in research and read reviews, and make mobile payments.

Setting up your business in a way to capitalize on boom in mobile commerce would clearly be a wise decision. Looking at the patterns of usage and plan your mobile applications to fulfill the usage patterns that are in place and you will clearly be positioning your business ahead of your competition that is ignoring these trends.

Mobile Web Development is Right for Your Business

Potential customers regularly ask us whether native mobile applications are the right choice or if they should opt for developing mobile web sites. Often the amount they would need to invest in one vs the other is their prime consideration but we suggest that you look at the usage and demographic of your client base instead.

Mobile web sites are a rapidly growing way to take advantage of internet access which is fueled by improved speeds of wireless access and the the higher capabilities of modern smart phones. The purpose of a mobile web site is to provide fast information to customers on the go. If your user base will need to access data while on the go but not necessarily on a regular basis a mobile web site is a great choice. A perfect example of this would be for a automotive repair shop that customers may need to look up when their car breaks down out on the road.

IAB has found that a full 61% of customers who visit a website that isn’t mobile-friendly from their smart phone will leave the site to visit a competitor. When considering this single fact the cost of a mobile web site can seem trivial. Often its best to build a mobile web site for purposes like this and native mobile applications for purposes more in tune with the advantages they offer.

It’s important to see the big picture when it comes to smart phones and the mobile web. By 2013, trends suggest there will be more internet-connected mobile devices than people and mobile devices will provide access to over half of the world‘s internet users by 2015.

These trends clearly illustrate that investing in a mobile friendly web site now will pay off for years regardless of whether you have native mobile applications built or not. The best course of action is to develop parallel strategies for the mobile web and mobile applications that take advantage of each mediums strengths are unique characteristics.

Mobile Shopping to Skyrocket over 50% in Next 24 Months

Today Juniper Research issued an important new white paper stating that the number of consumers purchasing physical goods remotely via their mobile handsets is expected to increase by nearly 50% over the next two years.

The report goes on to state that numbers will go up to to 580 million purchasers by the end of 2014, up from 393 million this year, further stating that this is due to greater consumer confidence in the mobile device as both a browsing and payment tool. It also shows the increasing importance of mobile as an eCommerce channel, with a large up-shift in mobile as a proportion of online transactions.

The report also states that the average size of mobile purchases would continue to rise, driven by larger volumes of regular, high-value transactions.

Are businesses ready to capitalize on these trends?

According to Juniper Research in the same report, the growth in this area will be constrained by the fact that a majority of retailer sites are not properly optimized for mobile browsing or purchasing. According to Dr. Windsor Holden, “Consumers increasingly expect to be able to buy their products and services via their smartphones and tablets. Companies which do not offer this option face falling behind their competitors.”

There is clearly enormous opportunities for businesses that are willing to maximize there exposure to the market place with properly built mobile applications for both the iPhone and Android platforms as well as mobile web friendly web sites.

Other key numbers

Some of the other numbers that are mentioned in the report are simply staggering. The total annual transaction values from remotely purchased digital and physical goods will hit $730 billion within five years. And we are seeing a fast moving trend of eCommerce moving to smartphones and tablets where the average tablet transaction size already exceed those of desktop and laptop computers. Clearly the purchasing isn’t just a migration, but rather consumers are increasing in their level of confidence for purchasing remotely overall.

If you don’t have mobile applications or at a minimum a mobile friendly web site for your business, now it clearly the time to do so.

If you would like to read all the details in Juniper Research’s fascinating new report, you can download it here.

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