Research shows that Android has more market share, but iOS owners are more likely to transact via their phones
By the end of 2016, 82 per cent of all mobile phones in the US will be smartphones says global research firm Forrester. According to Brand Republic, The state of mobile technology adoption 2013 research shows that many marketers are now investing and optimising their existing digital offerings for mobile but few are funding the more sophisticated services available across the mobile platform. But new and evolving technologies can offer marketers reduced cost and complexity.
The report’s three key findings include:
The challenges associated with mobile fragmentation persist
Smartphones – and now Android and iOS devices – are dominating the US mobile phone landscape. Android has more market share, but iOS owners are more likely to transact via their phones. Supporting experiences for multiple operating systems creates challenges and keeps costs high.
eBusiness professionals have tackled the basics with limited resources
Too many of the surveyed eBusiness professionals have less than US$500,000 to spend annually on mobile services – barely enough for a simple application and mobile optimised website. With limited budgets, these professionals are not building for the “mobile first” future as quickly as they should be.
eBusiness professionals are outsourcing the development of mobile services
Despite 68 per cent of eBusiness professionals claiming that they work closely with their IT team, they outsource mobile development work more often than not. They must ensure that strategic vendor relationships are in place to help them improve the sophistication of their mobile services.
The report also states that, although eBusiness professionals have nailed the mobile basics, few have distinct tablet strategies. They will need to consider the role of the tablet as the population with a tablet device in the US increases from 57 million owners at the end of 2012 to about 87 million owners at the end of 2013. With the majority of tablets having the 10 inch form factor today, their use case is more likely as a PC substitute than as a smartphone alternative. Moreover, US tablet owners (18+) who go online with their device weekly or more often primarily do so in the home — the living room and bedroom — and often as a second screen, so the opportunities that they offer differ from those of mobile phones, especially outside the home.