40 Per Cent of Western Europeans Sophisticated Mobile Users
- Monday, November 8th, 2010
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Almost 40 per cent of Western Europeans show sophisticated use of their mobile phones, representing a whopping 131m customers for firms to engage with.
The figures are based on a new Forrester survey of more than 25,000 Europeans adults. The Forrester Mobile Technographics study identifies six groups of mobile users in Europe. The groups are defined by the extent to which the mobile phone user has adopted mobile data services, the frequency of use of these services, and the level of sophistication of the mobile applications used.
While 12 per cent of European (and 22 per cent of UK) adults are SuperConnecteds, accessing the mobile internet at least weekly, the most common group in Europe is the Communicators: the 36 per cent (UK: 38 per cent) of European adults that communicate at least weekly using SMS, or may use MMS, IM, or personal email on their mobile phone at least monthly. However, 10 per cent (8 per cent: UK) of the European population is still part of the Inactives, meaning they do not own a mobile phone. The other groups identified in the Forrester 2010 Mobile Technographics ladder are: Entertainers, Connectors, and Talkers.
“The first step in developing or refining your mobile strategy is to analyze the mobile behavior of your target audience,” says Thomas Husson, senior analyst at Forrester and author of the study. “Keep in mind that these audiences vary dramatically by country, so it is critical to adopt a pragmatic approach and avoid any pan-European frameworks.”
The report notes, for example, that just because Communicators primarily talk and use messaging on their mobile phones, this does not mean they should be excluded from consideration by product and marketing strategists. In fact, 30 per cent of European Communicators receive SMS alerts, and 6 per cent of them would be interested in receiving ads on their mobile phone in exchange for free services.