SavvyQuest™: More Than One In Three U.S. Consumers Have Downloaded Mobile Apps
Luth Research and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), released the September 2010 U.S. Mobile Consumer Briefing, MMA’s monthly survey of U.S. adult consumers about their mobile marketing behaviors and opinions. Available exclusively to MMA members, the new survey found that 42 percent of all mobile consumers have downloaded apps and that 25 percent of mobile apps are used on a daily basis.
Based on Luth Research’s online panel, SurveySavvy™, each MMA U.S. Mobile Consumer Briefing collects answers from a demographically representative sample of more than 1,000 U.S. adult consumers. Conducted September 17-24, the survey asked consumers the following questions about their usage of their mobile phone and some of its features, including:
- Number of applications downloaded
- Breakdown of free vs paid for applications
- Frequencies of use
- Features of most used mobile applications
- Expected number mobile application downloads for 2011
- Types of mobile apps desired for 2011
- Reasons for non use of applications
- Brand of mobile phone
- Current mobile phone operator
- Message (text) plan used
- Standard Demographics
The new survey confirms that mobile apps have emerged as a significant medium in their own right, within the overall mobile channel, one which brands and marketers need to capitalize on. For example, 10 percent of mobile consumers who have downloaded apps described their most used app as one that can be used for ordering or purchasing products. This indicates that apps are fast becoming a consumer shopping and sales tool offering both mass-market reach and intensity of usage.
The survey’s other key findings include:
- Sixty percent of those surveyed said their “most used” app provides entertainment
- Twenty-two percent of respondents expect to download more apps next than they have this year, while 40 percent expect to download the same amount
- Over the next year, mobile users will seek new apps focusing on entertainment, restaurants, banking and travel
- As free apps supported by advertising represent about 31% of all downloaded apps, apps represent a significant advertising opportunity for brands
“With half of all mobile consumers downloading apps this year or next, MMA can officially mark the birth of a new mainstream advertising and marketing channel within the family of mobile media,” said Peter A. Johnson, vice president of market intelligence, MMA, and author of the study. “Marketers now have the opportunity to bundle fun and advertising, drama and customer service, utility and sales in a single, quarter-inch icon. To place an app on the mobile desk-top that commands consumer attention on a daily basis should be on every marketer’s “to do” list as they plan for 2011.”
“This survey quantifies a trend that’s been impossible to overlook: mobile apps are now solidly in the American mainstream,” Jacqueline Rosales, EVP, Business Development & Client Service, Luth Research. “Although the percentage of smartphone users is still a minority of all mobile phone owners, app interest and usage have now reached the point where no brand or marketer can afford to dismiss apps as just a niche play with limited reach and effectiveness.”
Available exclusively to MMA members, each MMA Consumer Briefing includes a 2- to 3-page executive summary, all survey questions and up to 50 tables of detailed results. Survey responses are provided both in aggregate and in cross-tabulation by standard audience demographics, such as age, gender and income, as well as wireless carrier and handset manufacturer.
About the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is the premier global non-profit trade association established to lead the growth of mobile marketing and its associated technologies. The MMA is an action-oriented organization designed to clear obstacles to market development, establish mobile media guidelines and best practices for sustainable growth, and evangelize the use of the mobile channel. The more than 700 member companies, representing over forty countries around the globe, include all members of the mobile media ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association’s global headquarters are located in the United States and it has regional chapters including North America (NA), Europe (EUR), Latin America (LATAM), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) branches. For more information, please visit www.mmaglobal.com
About SavvyQuest
SavvyQuest is an Omnibus survey service provided by Luth Research leveraging SurveySavvy™, the company’s high-quality multimillion-member online panel. With SavvyQuest, an online survey with a target total of 1,000 completes is fielded based on a weekly schedule, which can be tailored to on-demand schedules if needed. The 1,000 completes are balanced to reflect the U.S. Census demographic distributions on gender, age and ethnicity. The sample can be later weighted to reflect online population distributions if it is so desired. For more information, please contact Becky Wu, Vice President of Research, at bwu@luthresearch.com.