What’s happening in mobile around the world
Smartphone shipments overtake feature phones globally
Global shipments of smartphones are expected to surpass shipments of feature phones for the first time in 2013. NPD, a market research firm, is projecting 937 million feature phones will be shipped globally, compared to 1.45 billion smartphones.
For marketers, the shift from feature phones to smartphones has drastic implications, especially in emerging markets. With the majority of phone owners expected to soon be smartphone owners, marketing messages must be tailored for the mobile web.
Smartphone makers are also targeting lower-end consumers in many markets – including Canada, where Nokia recently released a $150 smartphone.
Mobile ad spend expected to reach $100 million in Indonesia by 2015
South Asian mobile advertising and marketing agency AD2C has opened shop in Indonesia, hoping to take advantage of what it expects to be a $100-million mobile ad market. In Indonesia, half of all internet users access the web via a mobile device, according to the agency. The country is the largest smartphone market in the region with an 80% mobile penetration.
[Read more via IndianTelevision.com]
79% of Indian mobile users plan to use m-commerce
The mobile advertising network InMobi released a new report on the mobile market in India, noting that the vast majority (79%) of mobile web users in India plan to make an online purchase “in the next 12 months.” The report also noted that 66% of Indian consumers with mobile devices say they are as comfortable with mobile ads as other types of advertising.
The app market and second screen use are also booming, according to InMobi. Phalgun Raju, VP and GM for India and Southeast Asia at InMobi, said the acceleration of the Indian mobile market has made it ripe for marketers to reach consumers on tablets and phones. “With over 850 million active mobile connections in India, the mobile marketing channel presents marketers an unprecedented opportunity to engage with the always-connected consumers. The onus is now on brands and content agencies to create compelling, engaging mobile rich media to capture consumers’ attention.”
[Read more via Mobile Entertainment]
eBay transacted $13 billion on mobile in 2012
EBay made $13 billion in mobile transactions in 2012, according to Alexander von Schirmeister, CEO of eBay Europe. At some point, more than a third of transactions involved mobile, either through search, browsing or a final purchase, according to Schirmeister.
He said the proliferation of mobile transactions is so great that marketers must no longer separate m-commerce strategy from overall e-commerce. “Talking about m-commerce and e-commerce is no longer relevant, certainly not in retail. The smartphone has fundamentally changed the retail ecosystem. (It) has brought offline and online retailers together. If anyone thought physical retail commerce was dying, on the contrary, mobile is bringing it back big time.”
