With spending power of $1 trillion, youngsters will spend 10% of their disposable income on mobile services in 2005, reports Wireless World Forum, a UK-based telecoms market research company.
In its Mobile Youth 2005 survey, Wireless World Forum defines a youth as a person between the ages of five and 24, and predicts spending on mobile services to be over $100 billion in 2005.
Messaging applications will contribute $26.6 billion to the mobile youth market in 2005, the largest contributor behind voice, and will increase by $12 billion to $48.6 billion by 2007.
Contributing 86% of all mobile music revenues, youth spending on mobile music will be $3.5 billion in 2005, growing by $2.3 billion to $5.8 billion in 2007, with youths between 15 and 19 being the biggest spenders. In China and Korea, youths spend $210 million on ringbacks, states the survey report.
Mobile gaming in the youth sector is also expected to become a billion-dollar business by 2007.
The foundation of these mobile youth developments is based on growth predicted in the consumer base from 257 million to 370 million mobile subscribers in 2007, making up 22% of all mobile users.
Wireless World Forum says the spending growth impacts the bottom lines of mobile companies and also affects youth spending on chocolate, CDs and cigarettes.
Earlier this week, Nokia SA noted that the African youth market found the lifestyle aspect of handsets very important - this included cameras, music and entertainment features.
Speaking at a briefing in Sandton, Mika Niemi, Nokia`s senior marketing manager of customer and market operations for Africa, said the company recognised that handsets were no longer only a communication tool, but also an important part of an individual`s lifestyle.
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