TNS, the market research company, today launched TNS Mobile Life 2011, said to be the largest ever global research study into today’s mobile consumer. The survey reveals that Britain is the highest ranked Western country when it comes to using social networks on mobile, with over 11 million people logging in while on the go.
Now into its sixth year, TNS Mobile Life is said to be the result of more than 25,000 hours of interviews with over 34,000 consumers aged 16 – 60 years of age in 43 countries.
Our hunger for social connectivity is revealed, with no less than 5.5 million, or 16%, of Brits accessing social networks every day from their mobile, says TNS. This figure looks set to continue to grow in the UK, with 8 million (41%) of mobile users in Britain who are not yet social networking on their mobile interested in doing so, it says.
The UK also leads Europe in downloading apps (31%), watching social video (29%) and downloading games (26%) – driven by the fact that 17 million people own a smart phone today.
Stephen Yap, Group Director at TNS Technology commented: “TNS Mobile Life 2011 reveals how mobile technology is transforming the lives of Britons at an unprecedented pace. With social networking emerging as a killer application, mobile content and applications have never been more important. Handset makers and operators take note: it’s no longer just about the device or the network, but rather what people are doing and downloading.”
As smartphone usage increases and people do more with their mobiles, content and applications are becoming a stronger driver of consumer purchases. 36% of British consumers cite content and applications as “important” in their choice of mobile device, up from 33% in 2010.
With touchscreen mobiles capturing a growing share of the market, mobile design is increasing in importance as a purchase consideration. The report reveals that 45% of British mobile users say device design or ‘form factor’ is important, compared with 41% in 2010. In comparison, only 33% of consumers say that the choice of operator is an important purchase consideration.
Despite recent hype around iPad 2’s launch, Brits’ interest in tablets is significantly lower than the rest of Europe, with 17% of those in the UK interested in buying a tablet over the next six months, compared to 28% across Europe and 31% in Asia.
The research also reveals that the UK trails the world when it comes to purchasing consumer technology over the next six months, with almost half (49%) of Britons not intending to part with their pounds for the latest gadgets.
Yap continued: “Brits’ comparative scepticism when it comes to tablets affirms the pragmatic relationship between people in this country and their technology. While consumers elsewhere have been wowed by the iPad, Brits maintain more of a “wait and see” mindset – no doubt underpinned by pressures on people’s purses leading to increasing cutbacks on non-essential purchases.”