Mobile Internet usage in SA is increasing, providing several marketing opportunities.
The boom in mobile Internet use in SA is largely due to low data tariffs, and access to mobile Web and Web sites designed specifically for mobile phones, says Riaan Groenewald, Multimedia Solutions operations director.
Admob, a mobile advertiser, says SA is ranked third in its worldwide advertising statistics, garnering 144 million impressions in December 2007.
Instant messaging service Mxit is also enjoying a boom, with six million registered users and a growth rate of between 10 000 and 11 000 new subscriptions per day.
This kind of traffic has caused mobile service providers to jump on the instant messaging bandwagon. "MTN has already launched its instant messaging (IM) service, NokNok, while Vodacom announced it would be launching TheGrid and Meep early in the new year," Groenewald says.
This all leads to the conclusion that 2008 will be a good year for mobile, says Groenewald. But he questions whether South African retailers will be prepared.
According to Groenewald, retailers and corporates need to incorporate mobile Internet into their marketing plans for this year, because regular Internet users in SA number a few million, while mobile phone users number around 25 million.
"And a large percentage of the cellphone base is now starting to actively look for information online. While most are browsing mobile content, sports news, entertainment news, weather, etc, from their phones, they could just as easily be browsing retailers' mobi sites if they were available."
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