Some interesting data from Google and mobile users for HK that we wanted to share!
1. This is the first global smartphone user survey to compare user habits in 30 markets
● At the beginning of this year, Google partnered with Ipsos Research to conduct a global research survey of smartphone usage, which covered thirty markets around the world (including 11 in the Asia Pacific region) and gathered over 30,000 sample responses.
● This survey is the largest of its kind and covers the largest number of smartphone users surveyed at any one time using the same standards and methodologies to explore the user habits of smartphone consumers around the world.
● This is the first survey in history to compare the user habits of smartphone users in different markets.
● In the near future, we will post the results of this survey online for the benefit of developers, government, R&D professionals, smartphone sellers as well as anyone who is interested in this valuable data, helping them better understand how smartphones are being used.
● This survey was conducted between March and July 2011 in 30 different markets.
2. Survey Data Shows: clear and rapid growth among smartphone users in Hong Kong
● Currently, 35% of all mobile phone users in Hong Kong use smartphones and, of these, 63% are first-time smartphone owners.
3. Smartphone users in Hong Kong use their devices anywhere, anytime
● Hong Kong smartphone users use their phones mostly at home and at work with 63% and 56% using their devices at these respective locations over the period of seven days. This is counter to the assumption that most people use their smartphones ‘on-the-go’ (55% in Hong Kong).
● While using their smartphones, people in Hong Kong also use other multimedia apps and functions. Among others, they mostly listen to music (54%), read newspapers or magazines (46%), watch television programs (41%), use the Internet on other Internet enabled devices (32%), read books (27%), watch movies (26%) or play video games (19%).
4. Smartphone touches every aspect of our daily lives today (search, video, social…)
● Smartphones have become a must-have accessory in Hong Kong and users use their smartphones most frequently to search, watch and share video clips or visit social networking sites.
● About 56% of smartphone users use their mobile phones to search every day, a number that is close to the percentage of people who search on PCs (81%).
● 29% of users watch or share video clips.
● Smartphone users in Hong Kong love sharing information on social networking sites. 57% visit social networking sites on their smartphones; 41% of users visit social networking sites every day, a number that is very close to the percentage of people who visit social networking sites on PCs (43%).
5. Enormous mobile opportunities for advertisers, businesses, and developers in Hong Kong
● In Hong Kong, 26% smartphone users indicated that they notice mobile ads all the time or most of the time; 78% of users have previously noticed mobile ads on their smartphones.
● Out of the 78% users who have noticed mobile ads, 47% of users said that they notice mobile ads mostly while they are on search engines via their phones. Another 40% and 22% said that they had seen them in apps or while on video websites respectively.
● Smartphones have become an important source and channel for consumer/product information. After noticing the mobile ads, 25% of users visited the website of the advertiser, 23% said that they would click on mobile ads to learn more about a particular product. Another 23% of users have used their smartphones to make online purchases. 18% of users looked for more information on the web while 14% said that they would use their smartphones to compare or learn about products before buying them.
● 37% of Hong Kong smartphone users have intentionally used their smartphones to compare or learn about products.
● 22% of Hong Kong smartphone users said that they changed their mind about purchasing a product as a result of information they gathered using their smartphones.
● There is a huge potential for online shopping in Hong Kong. Currently 33% of users have said that they would be willing to make an online purchase using their smartphones.
● What people purchase via smartphones includes movie tickets, financial services, cosmetics, clothing, travel, apps, transportation, electronics, etc.
Comparison of Smartphone Usage
Hong Kong vs. Greater China
● Hong Kong smartphone users own an average of 30 apps, the highest in Greater China (20 in Taiwan, 15 in key tier-1 and tier-2 cities in China).
● When compared with key tier-1 and tier-2 cities in China & Taiwan, Hong Kong users are:
○ Most likely to use phone’s Internet multiple times a day
○ Most likely to read a newspaper while on smartphones
○ Most likely to have watched a TV episode on phones (33%)
○ Most likely to have searched for restaurants or bars
○ Most frequent daily users of social networking
Hong Kong vs. APAC
● Hong Kong has:
○ 3rd highest smartphone penetration in Asia-Pacific (35%) – behind only Singapore (62%) and Australia (37%). Tied with key tier-1 and tier-2 cities in China (35%).
Hong Kong vs. Rest World
● Hong Kong is/has:
○ Top 10 most likely to have made a purchase with phone.
○ Third highest smartphone penetration of 30 markets studied.
○ Top 10 most likely to say that the smartphone reflects being a ‘modern person’ and is an accessory to match that modernity.
About Google Mobile Ads
1. Mobile ads are skyrocketing and we have tremendous momentum
● The explosion in smartphones has made mobile ads one of the fastest growing ad formats ever.
● As the mobile web and mobile apps grow so do the opportunities for marketers to reach consumers and grow their businesses.
● Google Mobile ads have hit an annual $1B revenue run-rate as of Q3 2010.
● Worldwide mobile search has increased 2.3X in 2010.
2. Our principles are basic — seamless, inclusive, made for mobile — and they are designed to enable all businesses take advantage of the opportunities that mobile advertising offers
○ ‘Seamless’: We’re bringing the best characteristics of desktop ads to mobile
■Advertisers can manage desktop and mobile campaigns from a single interface (as simple as checking a box in AdWords).
■DoubleClick for Publishers enables publishers to manage display ad space across many devices.
○ ‘Inclusive’: Mobile is about more than one device, one type of ad format, or one style of ad campaign
■Using Google, advertisers can reach customers across a variety of high-end devices (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry).
■AdMob and Google enable publishers to monetize their sites and mobile apps across various content network partner platforms.
■We offer a variety of search and display formats: sitelinks, click-to-call, hyperlocal (search), interstitial video, click to app download, expandable maps and banners (display).
○ ‘Made for Mobile’: Mobile devices have unique characteristics–skin, ears and eyes as well as geo location– that create unique opportunities for marketers
■E.g. Google’s mobile click-to-call enables users to call businesses directly from an ad unit. Today, click-to-call ads generate millions of calls every month for advertisers.
■E.g. Hyperlocal features show user’s proximity to an advertiser’s business location, within the ad unit. Advertisers are seeing significantly improved ROI with this feature.
3. Smartphone will play a vital role in Google’s mobile ads platform
● With the rising usage of the Android platform devices, increase in mobile search volume, and application usage, advertising revenue growth will follow suit.
● From 2009 Q4 to 2010 Q4, the search unit volume for Android devices has increased 10 fold, while the global mobile search volume has grown five times over the past two years
● Google’s mobile ads will appear in a window next to the search results, third-party mobile websites, or applications. In addition to the Android platform, iPhone, Palm Pres and other WAP phones will be able to display Google’s mobile advertising.
do you have the link to the report?