Mobile social networking, along with banking and navigation, are poised for strong year-over-year global growth in 2011, according to a white paper from TNS Mobile Life. Data from “The Holistic Portfolio” indicates the percentage of global mobile subscribers performing social networking should rise about 58% this year, from 12% to 19%.
Mobile Banking, Navigation Will Also Boom
In addition, mobile banking will grow about 56%, from 9% to 14% of global subscribers, while mobile navigation will increase 62.5%, from 8% to 13% of global subscribers. Three mobile activities will rise from essentially 0% in 2010: streaming music (17%), streaming TV/video (11%), and speech-to-text (9%).
Most Popular Activities Will Drop in Popularity
Interestingly, the three most commonly performed mobile activities in 2011 will all experience a year-over-year decrease in the percentage of global subscribers performing them. Most significantly, number one activity downloading ringtones will drop 10%, from 29% to 26%.
Headset Brand Leading Purchase Factor
Across global markets, headset brand is considered an important purchase factor by the highest percentage of consumers. However, this factor becomes even more important in developing markets, as it is cited by 86% of consumers in emerging Tier II markets and 70% of consumers in emerging Tier I markets, but only 44% of consumers in mature markets.
Consumers in emerging Tier II markets are much more likely to consider the model of headset (78%) than those in emerging Tier I (44%) or mature (38%) markets. Emerging Tier II consumers are also more likely to consider brand of network provider (53%, compared to 26% of consumers in emerging tier I markets and 27% of consumers in emerging Tier II markets).
There is no factor which consumers in emerging Tier II markets are substantially more likely than consumers in both other markets to consider. Consumers in mature markets are more likely to consider look and feel of device (53%, compared to 41% of consumers in emerging Tier I markets and 29% of consumers in emerging Tier II markets) and input method (41%, compared to 22% consumers in emerging Tier I market and 10% of consumers in emerging Tier II markets).
Consumers in Mature Markets Consult More Sources
Generally speaking, consumers in mature markets are more likely to consult a larger number of sources before purchasing a mobile phone. Out of 13 different sources examined by TNS, consumers in mature markets had a higher percentage of consultation than their peers in emerging markets in seven, in some cases by a substantial margin. Those in emerging Tier II markets had a higher consultation rate in five sources, most notably word of mouth and TV. Consumers in emerging Tier I markets were only the most likely to consult contact service centers.
comScore: US Mobile Financial Service Users Grow 54% YOY
In Q4 2010, 29.8 million Americans accessed financial services accounts (bank, credit card, or brokerage) via their mobile device, an increase of 54% from 19.3 million in Q4 2009, according to March 2011 comScore MobiLens data. In addition, 18.6 million users accessed their financial accounts via mobile browser in Q4 2010, up 58% from 11.8 million the previous year.
