Smartphone Usage to Reach 71% of Irish Household by Dec 2012
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Smartphone penetration will increase to almost 3/4 of all Irish household by December 2012. A new study by redc and WIN has revealed.
Redc and WIN have the current smartphone ownership at 59% of Irish households at the end of 2011. And astonishingly predict that by the end of the year penetration rates will 71%. Read that again 71%.
Smartphone penetration to Reach 71%
The same report also noted that globally, cell phones / smartphone ownership has almost doubled in one year from 19% in 2010 to 35% in 2011.
Tablets to be 40% of Households
Equally as impressive as the mobile phone numbers is the growth in tablets and laptop computers. Tablets are expected to grow to 40% of Irish households and laptop computers are expected to in 95% of all Irish households!
Laptops to be in 95% of Households!
Ownership is currently biased towards two demographic groups, the 18-24, and the 25-44 year old, 65%, and 61% take-up respectively. However, as the overall adoption rates increases the 45-64 year old group will reach the 60-65% penetration.
The full report is available for download in .pdf format here.
Smartphone and Mobile Payments
Currently 11% of Irish smart phone owners use their phone to purchase goods. Referred to as Mobile Payment or Mobile Wallet, this is alternate payment method to cash, laser, and credit cards.
The study highlighted that 52% would consider using a Mobile Payment/Wallet method to buy goods. Combining the existing 11% implies that 64% of smartphone users would use a Mobile Payment/Wallet method to buy goods! Consider the predicted penetration by years end and almost 2 million Irish would use their smartphone as a payment method.
The obvious question I have as a Marketer is how do I help my clients leverage this to their advantage?
Marketing Takeaway – Implication for Business owners?
- Mobilize your existing website – Be Prepared! Ensure your website is enabled for smartphones. Your website analytics package will detail the percent of smartphone visitors. Don’t fret if only 5% are visiting with smartphones. That number will increase. Be prepared!
- Content- smartphones users have different needs and have different intent. Think about “here is our location”, here are “current deals”, or “mobile only deals – here is a coupon”. Content also should incorporate videos, audio, and blog posts.
- Enable mobile payment – Google Wallet, Visa, Master Card are three options. Put a huge sign on your door “we support Mobile Payment or Mobile Wallet” etc. to encourage usage.
- Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Foursquare – smarthpones are connected devices. Allow your customers to share reviews about products in your store, etc. Use the network effect to get the word out.
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