Asia loves mobile video, but vouchers and coupons still get more clicks: Initiative

The Mobile Experience Study, part of Initiative’s Consumer Connections global research programme, is based on a survey of 13,000 smartphone users aged 18 to 54 in India, China, South Korea, Australia, US, Canada, Brazil, UK, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy and Russia.

Among the 13 countries surveyed, South Korea has the highest mobile penetration of 68 per cent, while Australia is 54 per cent, China is 26 per cent and India is 5 per cent.

The study identified that four native behaviours—connecting, entertaining, socialising and shopping—were fairly consistent across the world.

The study showed that when connecting with other people digitally, smartphone usage rises to 58 per cent. The most popular activity on mobile is using IM and texting (79 per cent), followed by social networks (41 per cent) and email (32 per cent).

It’s notable that 71 per cent of respondents have a branded application on their smartphone, with 67 per cent checking it daily, while 44 per cent of them play games at least once a day.

However, the most engaging mobile touchpoint is voucher codes (74 per cent), followed by QR codes (73 per cent) and brand mobile websites (71 per cent).

The report pointed out that marketers must embrace two new mobile mindsets—boredom and multitasking—to exploit opportunities on the smartphone to their fullest, as 25 per cent of users tend to look for entertainment on mobile.

Asia-Pacific markets ranked the highest for watching (40 per cent) and sharing (34 per cent) videos while passing time. 

The respondents use their smartphones as multitasking tools while watching TV (56 per cent), commuting (54 per cent) and listening to radio (53 per cent).

Also, 54 per cent of mobile users talk about TV shows via their devices, with 22 per cent doing so more than once a week, while 58 per cent talk about brand ads.

The study also showed Asia leads the world in mobile browsing and shopping, while consumers in European countries are slower to adopt these trends. Among the surveyed countries, China leads the way: 91 per cent browse on mobile and 66 per cent shop on mobile.

More than half of mobile shopping (52 per cent) is done while people are relaxing at home, while 25 per cent of them use their smartphone to post updates or comments on what they are buying.

The highest mobile browsing categories include clothing, groceries, home electronics and mobile phones, while the highest mobile shopping categories include applications, books, music and clothing.