DATA POINTS: Less Loyalty from Mobile Users; Mobile Enterprise Spending Up; Mobile Media Growth Seen; Mobile Users Interested in Message Deals; Mobile Money Transfers To Jump » mobilegroove

AS MOBILE USERS TAKE OUT MORE CONNECTIONS, THEY’RE LESS LIKELY TO STICK TO ONE OPERATOR, says a new report from Wireless Intelligence. The firm set out to determine the impact of the growing number of users with multiple mobile connections, thanks to the proliferation of data modems and other factors. It found that in the US and Canada, two-thirds of users were most likely to keep their business with a single operator, while in Western Europe, this number was just 40 percent.

It found that the least loyal market in its survey was Italy, where users have an average of 1.77 SIM cards, with 81 percent having them from multiple operators, which the firm says is due to a lack of handset subsidies as well as the market being dominated by prepaid users. Furthermore, the company says churn increased slightly in Western Europe to 2.16 percent from 1.97 percent a year earlier, while the North American prepaid market grew by 19 percent, with postpaid up just 2 percent. Source

The bottom line: Pretty straightforward – when shopping for a 3G dongle or other second device, consumers go for the best deal, regardless of whether it’s with their current operator or not. In addition, the new customer pricing available on devices at a new operator often beats that from a user’s existing carrier, giving them an incentive to diversify.

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MOBILE ENTERPRISE REVENUES WILL HIT $92.6 BILLION IN 2014, says Informa, accounting for 24 percent mobile data services revenues. The company says that growth in the SME and SoHo sectors, as well as outsourcing and SaaS, will help operators grow their business.

However, Informa adds that operators will come under increasing competition in the space from established enterprise IT players.  It says their existing relationships with companies, as well as their expertise in implementation and integration will give them a leg up. Source

The bottom line: For many years, systems integrators, consultants and other IT shops have been portrayed as major competitors to operators, but operators have largely held their own. The fact of the matter is that operators will always play a role in supplying the connection; as things move forward, mobility will be baked in to IT apps, largely removing any opportunity for them in the integration space.

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THE MOBILE MEDIA INDUSTRY WILL GROW BY A THIRD OVER THE NEXT YEAR, according to a new report compiled by KPMG for the Mobile Entertainment Forum. The report is based on the predictions made by members of the Forum, who were polled about their confidence in the industry, as well as their own revenues and headcount. The growth figure is 6 percent higher than the one from a similar survey at the beginning of 2009, reflecting a renewed confidence in the industry’s ability to perform in difficult economic conditions. Source

The bottom line: As the global recession begins to lift, some confidence is returning to the markets, and mobile content is no exception.

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AMERICAN CONSUMERS ARE INTERESTED IN GETTING DEALS SENT TO THEM BY PHONE,  says a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive. The company found that 42 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds and 33 percent of 35- to 44-year-olds are “at least somewhat interested” in receiving opt-in alerts from their favorite establishments on their mobile, with food, entertainment and consumer products the categories in which they’re most interested. Source

The bottom line: It’s not too surprising to find out this survey was commissioned by a company that sends out location-based alerts. Is this the well-debunked “Starbucks example” of location-based ads, or is there something more to it?

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MORE THAN 500 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE WILL USE MOBILE MONEY TRANSFERS BY 2014, according to Juniper Research, mainly in developing nations. While these services will face political, legal and commercial challenges, the firm says they’ll thrive in underbanked markets and pose a challenge to traditional bank accounts. Source

The bottom line: More people in these countries have phones than have bank accounts or credit/debit cards – and there’s the market.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 7:56 pm and is filed under Location-Based Services, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.