Tag: iphones

Report highlights importance of mobile commerce and other activities on smartphones

Experian Marketing Services, a marking firm associated with Experian plc., has released a new report concerning consumer behavior and the use of smartphones. Mobile technology has come to play a vital role in the lives of the average consumer, with many people relying on smartphones to function in their daily lives. The advent of mobile commerce has made these devices even more important to people around the world, especially as they devices begin to store and make use of financial information.

Consumers spend average of 58 minutes on their mobile device daily

It is no surprise that many consumers have smartphones, but what may be surprising is how much time a typical person will spend on their mobile device every day. The report shows that the average smartphone user devotes 58 minutes of their time to their mobile device. Much of this time is spend on a variety of activities, including mobile commerce and social networking. The report suggests that the typical iPhone user spends an average of 1 hour and 15 minutes on their mobile device daily, whereas the typical Android user spends 49 minutes on their device per day.

Most of this time is spend talking on the phone and texting

Approximately 26% of the time smartphone users spend on their device involves talking to others on the phone, while 20% of this time is spent texting. Some 8% of this time is devoted to mobile games, which have proven quite popular with a wide range of consumers. Mobile commerce also takes up some of a smartphone user’s time, but not as much as texting. While consumers have been quick to embrace mobile commerce, many people have not found enjoyable experiences through their smartphones. Poor experiences have driven some consumers away from mobile commerce, but not all have abandoned the idea.

Mobile commerce appears active among iPhone consumers

The report suggests that iPhone users spend more time on mobile activities than Android users. This could translate into iPhone users being more active in the mobile commerce space, but many mobile commerce platforms are based on the use of NFC technology, which is not supported by Apple devices. There are alternatives to NFC, of course, that have made mobile commerce more accommodating to iPhone users, but these alternatives are not as popular as the conventional NFC-based platforms.

Android users lag in importance behind Apple customers in mobile commerce

As opportunities in mobile commerce continue to grow and change, retailers consistently say that Apple consumer rule mobile commerce despite lower smartphone sales. However, it appears that though iPhone users are a minority they are far more likely to use their smartphones to make purchases and otherwise engage in mobile commerce.

Lucrative mobile commerce business

Apple seems to have bigger visibility with iPhones, but sales for Android powered phones accounted for 52.5 percent of smartphone sales and iPhones made up just 34.3 percent. Those figures can be misleading through, because Apple has huge gains and sales in the tablet market with the iPad alone dominating with 76 percent of the market share. Android and other manufacturers make up the rest.

However, that does not account for those actually using their smartphones to make mobile commerce transactions. These are essentially payments made by use of the smartphone – allowing some consumers to leave their wallet at home. Apple’s iPhone users may be a smaller crowd, but they are by far the most likely to use a smartphone for a purchase rather than whipping out the credit card or paying in cash.

The difference is in the user

Though iPhones account for lower sales, they are higher priced than most Android powered smartphones. In essence, those with less expendable income are far more likely to get a less expensive Android when smartphone shopping. The iPhone user is more into using the smartphone for all of the capacities it possesses and are more likely to be up to trying newer trends like mobile commerce transactions for simply buying coffee at a corner shop. Android users are in on the action, but are far behind iPhone consumers in cash to spend and on the willingness to try new ways of spending it.

Kevin Edwards of Affiliate Window said, “Apple users are typical early adopters. They’re generally tech-savvy individuals who embrace new ways of interacting and transacting online.” He also theorizes that Apple customers are more comfortable about shopping and more confident in shopping online. Not only are iPhone users more active in mobile commerce, the same can be said for iPad users as well.