Mobile internet is growing eight times faster than PC-based web

The mobile internet is growing eight times faster than traffic to the PC-based web, according to the first set of mobile data from Nielsen Online.

The research company has released its first Mobile Media findings which show traffic on the mobile internet increased by 25% to 7.3m during 3Q 2008. The survey found 25% of mobile internet users are aged 16-24 compared with just 12% who are older than 55.

BBC News is the most popular mobile internet site, attracting 1.7m unique users in 3Q 2008.

Mobile internetThe mobile internet is growing eight times faster than traffic to the PC-based web, according to the first set of mobile data from Nielsen Online.

Kent Ferguson, senior analyst for Nielsen, said the mobile web was a great opportunity for advertisers and publishers to reach important demographic groups. "People often need fast, instant access to weather or sports news and mobile can obviously satisfy this, wherever they are," he said.

Kids and Teens Are Always On

Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.

eMarketer estimates that 82% of US teens ages 12 to 17 and 43.5% of children ages 3 to 11 will use the Internet on a monthly basis in 2009.

Comparative data from Nielsen Online indicates that about 19% of active Internet users in July 2008—or 32.4 million people—were under age 18.
MultiMedia Intelligence found that there were 16 million mobile teens in the US in 2007.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are 25.7 million teens in the US. That means nearly two-thirds of all teens have a mobile phone.

Pew Internet & American Life Project and the College Board’s National Commission on Writing found that a greater percentage of US teens have a mobile phone than own a PC
“This audience navigates between a multitude of electronic options for communication, including social networks, text messaging, instant messaging and virtual worlds,” says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Kids and Teens: Communication Revolutionaries. “They expect transitions between communications media to be seamless—messages sent by one means ought to be accessible in another.”

In fact, the distinctions many adults make between “online,” “offline” and “mobile” communications are meaningless to these young multimedia mavens.

“Kids and teens just communicate, period,” says Ms. Williamson.

What tools they use to interact are less important than how simple the interaction is, how seamlessly they can move across devices and how engaging the experience is.

“Marketers have never confronted a faster-moving or more elusive audience,” Ms. Williamson says.

IBM Study: Consumers Pick Mobile Device over PC

IBM has released new survey results which reveal that over 50 percent of consumers would substitute their Internet usage on a PC for a mobile device.

IBM surveyed 600 consumers in the United States, China and the United Kingdom on their preferences regarding the mobile Internet. The survey found that communication, travel and navigation applications, as well as news and information services, are expected to increase in usage over the mobile Internet. With the world's population of mobile-phone users expected to increase from the current 50 percent to 80 percent in 2013, which translates to a staggering 5.8 billion people, the availability of IP wireless broadband and more affordable devices will change the way companies around the world operate and relate to their customers, employees and partners.

"Worldwide adoption of the mobile phone as the preferred device for accessing the Internet is just around the corner," said Dr. Sungyoul Lee, Global Consulting Leader, Electronics Industry, IBM. "With 70 percent of consumers worldwide who believe that the mobile Internet has the potential to add significant to moderate value to their day-to-day lives, the time is now for companies to develop intuitive applications and services that allow people of all ages to effortlessly access and use the Internet while on the go -- anytime, and anywhere."

By 2011, 39 percent of respondents said they expect to increase Internet use on their mobile device by at least 40 percent. The Chinese consumers polled lead the world as the fastest adopting society of the mobile web. This finding is in synch with IBM's previous hypothesis that within emerging markets, the mobile platform will be the primary way of interacting with businesses and institutions. These countries have in many cases leapfrogged the PC era and are routinely using their mobile devices for a variety of consumer services.

71 percent of respondents acknowledged that they expect to increase their usage of communication services such as obtaining maps and directions, instant messaging, social networking, emailing and reading the news from their mobile device. Growth markets like China and India are leading this adoption at a rapid pace and are proving to be the most open towards mobile internet than the mature markets. The survey found that consumers still prefer to execute services such as banking, stock trading, shopping and general search on the PC rather than a mobile device.

The mobile Internet is the most popular among Generation X and Generation Y, as they tend to be more technology savvy and have a greater exposure and acceptance of emerging technologies. Over 50 percent of respondents who chose "Strong to Full substitution" of accessing the PC versus a mobile device were 15-30 years old and believe the industry is doing its best to advance the mobile Web, although most are still unsatisfied with the price and services offered by carriers and handset manufacturers.

How Do Mobile Users Spend Their Time?

Texting tops the list.

Mobile users in the US are on their phones more than ever, talking, texting, watching videos and using the mobile Web.

Over one-half (54%) of mobile users surveyed in September 2008 by Azuki Systems said their usage had increased by more than 25% over the past two years. One-fifth said their usage had increased by 50% or more. One-third of respondents talked on their mobile phone more than 10 hours per week, and 34% of respondents ages 17 and under talked for more than 15 hours weekly.

But minutes of talk time became a commodity long ago, and mobile carriers—and the marketers who want to reach mobile customers—are looking to mobile data for new revenues.

The survey results should encourage them: Nearly four out of 10 mobile Internet users surfed the mobile Web for 2 or more hours every week. That number is likely to rise as smartphones continue to go mass market; 62% of mobile users surveyed said they either already owned or would own one within the next 12 months.
Nearly four out of five mobile users said they sent text messages from their phone, and 29% of those who did spent more than 2 hours every week on the activity.

The percentage of mobile users who told Azuki they sent text messages was even higher than results recorded by Nielsen Mobile in Q2 2008. Nielsen also found texting to be the most common mobile content activity, although it estimated that only 53% of mobile users engaged in SMS messaging.

How to get the most out of mobile marketing

The movement to access content on mobile platforms is gathering pace: 57 per cent of mobile phone users will have 3G internet access by 2011, according to Forrester Research.

So far, the speed of the mobile internet has limited its development. But the popularity of flat-rate data plans, the proliferation of services and applications, and the emergence of high-speed devices such as the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Bold, have made the technology viable and accessible.

Marketing group Nielsen estimates that going mobile will extend the audience reach of many internet sites by an average of 13 per cent. To get their hands on this ever-growing market, search providers are introducing applications and services, and opening up new possibilities to market on a personal level.

For marketers looking to use mobile web browsers, it is critical that their offering is presented in a practical, consumable way. For media-driven sites such as Disney.co.uk, this is a straightforward proposition - making a 'snack-sized' portal that balances advertising with content. Retailers have been more cautious, given the difficulty in displaying sufficient quantities of information to encourage a purchase.

But, unlike the fixed internet, the mobile web has no established models by which to measure success or failure, which makes it difficult to justify its slice of the marketing budget. It is therefore important for marketers to start to obtain a view of how their customers are interacting with their brand over this channel. Are visitors viewing more than one page on the site? Are their browsers capable of handling video? What screen size do most visitors use?

The mobile internet is reaching critical mass. Digital marketers need to understand its value and how to communicate with visitors accessing their sites with handheld devices. Maximising its potential begins with analytics, and using the lessons of the internet will help us understand how to deliver value.