Mobile Insights is a daily newsletter from BI Intelligence delivered first thing every morning exclusively to BI Intelligence subscribers. Sign up for a free trial of BI Intelligence today.
Mobile App Sales To Exceed $30 Billion This Year (Android Authority)
It’s hard to deny the major impact of smartphones and tablets, especially when it comes to mobile apps. Apps have become important not only for entertainment and information, but have even impacted the way we interact with others. By the end of the year, total revenues accumulated from mobile apps will pass the $30 billion mark. This accumulated amount comes from various platforms from iOS to Android, and even Windows Phone and Blackberry. The total isn’t just from traditional paid apps either, and includes in-app purchases, subscriptions and in-app advertisements. Even more impressive than the number itself is the growth it represents when compared to last year. This $30 billion figure is double what was achieved by the end of 2011. Don’t expect things to slow down anytime soon.
Mobile Marketing Used For Customer Acquisition (Forrester and Velti via Econsultancy)
Mobile marketing is predominantly used for customer acquisition and brand awareness, according to new research from Forrester and Velti. The survey found that 86% of respondents use the channel for customer acquisition, while 79% use it for awareness. A further 78% said they use mobile for loyalty and retention and 66% for customer satisfaction.
The survey also asked respondents which mobile marketing tactics they use. Reflecting the fact that social media is a hugely popular activity on smartphone, 66% of marketers said they invest in social mobile advertising. Display was the second most popular activity (44%) followed by mobile web landing pages with promotions and location-targeted advertising (both 37%).
And what are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that marketers use to assess their mobile efforts? The most common answer was web traffic and visitors (63%), followed by CTR (58%), brand awareness (54%) and revenue (44%).
The report takes this as further evidence that too many mobile advertisers are using desktop marketing tactics and haven’t yet adapted to the opportunities presented by mobile.
China To Overtake U.S. In Smartphone Installations (Read Write Mobile)
Mobile analytics company Flurry is predicting that China will overtake the U.S. in iOS and Android installations by the first quarter of 2013. According to estimates, China has 167 million iOS and Android devices active, trailing the U.S. by only 14 million. With a growth rate approaching 300%, China is on a pace to overtake the U.S. very soon.
The U.S. added 55 million installed iOS and Android devices between October 2011 and October 2012, about a 30% annual growth rate. China added 125 million installations in the time period, a 293% growth rate.
China is truly seeing an inflection point in smartphone adoption, much like the U.S. did between 2009 to 2010.
Cyber Monday Slows Mobile Web To A Crawl (CNN)
This week's Cyber Monday online shopping bonanza set new records, but the growing number of consumers who shopped on their phones and tablets often encountered brick-and-mortar-like delays on sluggish sites. On average, mobile retail sites took more than 18 seconds to load on Monday, according to Keynote, a mobile and website monitoring company. That is over 4x the time that customers ideally want (under 4 seconds). It's also roughly twice the sites' normal load time and about seven times slower than the same websites' pages on laptops and desktops. Tablets and smartphones are becoming integral to the savvy shopping experience. Customers are increasingly taking their mobile devices to retail stores to determine whether they can get a better deal for a certain item online. That trend has made slow mobile website speeds detrimental to business.
Laptops And Desktops Still Rule The Online Shipping World (Verizon)
Verizon has gone beyond tracking conventional online shopping information and taken a look at how and where consumers are shopping while at home.
While smartphones and tablets are quite popular when surfing for gifts, when it comes time to buy, consumers plan on doing so at a desktop or laptop. Check out more from the Verizon FiOS Innovation Index.
Bring Your Own Device: Invasion Of The Mobile Monster (Rapid7)
An infographic from Rapid7 highlights the growth of BYOD and the security risks it presents if organizations don’t safely manage a BYOD environment. Stats include:
- 71% of businesses surveyed said mobile devices caused an increase in security incidents
- 51% of organizations experienced data loss from employee use of unsecured mobile devices
- 67% of Apple iOS devices are running outdated firmware
Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
