Author: Rebecca

The income from advertisements is now higher on Google’s operating system than on Apple’s.

Until now, Apple has always worn the crown when it came to mobile ad revenues, but according to recent data that was released in a report by Opera Mediaworks, it looks as though the top spot has now been snatched up by Android.

The mobile marketing trends during the last quarter saw a considerable reversal and a defining result.

In the report, Opera Mediaworks underscored the point that even though Android took over Apple’s top spot in terms of its mobile ad revenues and impressions in the first quarter of this year, but the same thing happened in 2014 and iOS came back to reclaim its throne and hold onto it for three straight quarters. The margin by which Apple did manage to take back the lead, though, was very slight during that time.

It is important to note that the figures for mobile ad revenues used by Opera are based on its own advertising platform.

Opera’s mobile advertising platform data was used in order to generate its figures, which means that while the ad revenue information may be true there, this may not necessarily be the case everywhere else. That said, it does provide some useful insight into the trends that are occurring and that may not be exclusive to that one platform.

In the Q1 2015 report from the company explained that “For the first time since we started The State of Mobile Advertising report in 2012, Android is leading revenue generation across our platform, albeit by only a fraction of a percentage point.”

The figures from the report indicated that in this year’s first quarter, Android’s share of the mobile add traffic, worldwide, was 65.17 percent. That said, when it came to the actual ad revenue, it had a 45.77 percent share of the global market. The share held by iOS was only fractionally smaller than Android, at 45.44 percent.

In terms of the mobile ad traffic share from other platforms, BlackBery had a 1.87 percent global share, Symbian’s share was 3.99 percent, and Windows Phone clutched onto a tiny 0.16 percent. For mobile ad revenues, they had 1.96 percent, 1.27 percent, and 0.09 percent, respectively.

QR codes are having an impact among South African consumers

QR codes have had a major impact on mobile commerce in South Africa. These codes have become a very prominent tool in the mobile commerce space due to how easy they are to use and produce. The codes can direct consumers to a wide variety of digital information, but can also be used to initiate a mobile transaction, making them ideal tools to merchants that want to sell products to mobile consumers quickly.

Research shows that consumers are using codes for a variety of reasons

World Wide Worx, a technology research firm, has released analysis that shows that more than 2 million people in South Africa are using QR codes via mobile applications. These codes are being used for a wide range of reasons, such as adding a person’s contact information to a messaging app. They are also being used to sell products to mobile consumers. When scanned, these codes can provide information on particular products, while also giving consumers the option to purchase the products that they are interested in.

Young consumers show the most interest in QR codes

Notably, QR codes are most popular among those between the ages of 25 and 34. These consumers are more comfortable with the concept of mobile commerce and believe that these codes are effective tools to engage in this sector. The codes are also praised for their social aspects, as they have become quite popular among social media users in South Africa. The codes can be programmed to store contact details and other such information.

QR codes help power growth of mobile commerce

Consumers in South Africa have shown a great deal of interest in mobile commerce. New payment platforms have managed to win the support of these consumers and retailers are beginning to take notice. As such, merchants are looking for ways to embrace the concept of mobile commerce and some have begun turning to QR codes in order to do so. Some had predicted that QR codes would die off in the coming years, but mobile commerce may have saved these codes for the time being.