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Mobile browsing a consumer hit

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 25 Oct 2010

When it comes to the mobile user experience, consumers generally favour mobile browser experiences over downloadable mobile application experiences.

This is according to the findings of an Adobe study on consumer preferences for accessing products and shopping; financial services; media; entertainment and travel from mobile devices.

The study investigated 1 200 consumers to measure their mobile preferences, characteristics and satisfaction levels.

It found out that, overall, consumers report equal satisfaction levels with their browser and application experiences and spend about the same amount of time interacting with each.

Within the consumer products and shopping as well as the media and entertainment categories, 66% of respondents cited that they prefer the mobile Web for accessing content compared to 34% who cited a preference for downloadable applications.

The survey also demonstrated a huge opportunity for mobile commerce, with as much as 38% of respondents saying they had not purchased anything in the consumer products and shopping category from their devices in the last six months.

“Though mobile apps continue to be extremely popular, mobile users aren't ignoring mobile Web sites,” said Brad Rencher, vice-president and general manager of the Omniture Business Unit at Adobe.

“This, and other findings, makes it clear that companies can significantly enhance their customers' mobile experiences and better drive mobile e-commerce revenue. Customers are finding that an optimised mobile strategy, whether it consists of a Web site, an app, or a combination of both, can become a tremendous competitive advantage.”

The study also found media and entertainment to be the highest-penetrated mobile category, both by number of users and time spent, with only 3% of those surveyed saying they had not interacted with media content on a mobile device in the last six months.

In contrast, consumer products and shopping was the least penetrated, with the fewest number of users citing that they have purchased consumer goods from their phones.

Despite their differences, media and entertainment and consumer products and shopping drew the highest percentage of satisfied mobile users out of the four categories, with 89% and 85% respectively.

The survey also discovered that accessing maps and directions is the number one mobile activity sitting at 81% followed by media-related activities such as social networking at 76%, accessing local information at 73%, and reading news at 68%.

The top mobile finance activity, the survey also determined, is reviewing bank account information (67%).

Shrink-wrapped entertainment such as CDs, games and DVDs comprise the second largest mobile purchase category, accounting for 43% of those surveyed.

Males between 30 and 49 years old tend to be the most active content consumers and mobile purchasers; men outspend women, with 31% having spent $499 or more through their mobile device in the last 12 months, versus 23% of women who did so.

Men also spend more time than women on financial and travel content, while more women (80%) engage with social media on their devices compared to men (70%).

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