A new study published today out of the UK found that 76% of mobile phone users don’t use their mobile to access the Internet. Though it sounds unlikely, the study also noted that 60% of respondents claimed they did not own a mobile with Inernet access and only 30% of these said they were interested in getting one.
The study, conducted over a six month period in 2009 by Essential Research, also noted that 31% of Smartphone owners said they have never used their phone to connect to the Internet, while 24% use it to go online less than once a week and 8% said they had tried it, but don’t intend to do so again.
A study like this paints a bleak picture of the mobile Web and it’s usage, and seems to contradict all other reports saying that mobile Web usage will soon overtake traditional access. Still, Essential Research says the study was developed in consultation with a number of well known brands and businesses from across the mobile industry.
The study questioned more than 2,000 mobile phone owners aged 16+ using a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques, plus ethnographic case studies to come to its conclusions. “This type of research doesn’t often see the light of day, and what we’ve found is pretty surprising news,” said Alex Charlton, Partner at Essential Research. ”There is an enormous gulf between the perceptions we hold about mobiles being a big part of our Internet lives and the reality. In fact only a small percentage of us are truly Internet mobile users and the industry has a big job to do to move mobile Internet into our everyday lives.”
While the study seems accurate, I question it’s methodology. There seems to be a lot of ambiguity in regards to how they came to such a bleak outlook on mobile Web usage. Granted, the UK and Europe in general utilize and interact with the mobile Web in different ways than other parts of the world, but such dramatic differences are surprising.
Hi Justin
It certainly wasn’t our intention to paint a bleak picture! On the one hand, we did want to give a slight “reality check” as many (ourselves included) can often get carried away in assuming that whatever behaviour is true for us is true of the general public.
We’re confident in the accuracy of our reporting, but we should point out that this is claimed behaviour. Comparing whether people claim to have an internet enabled phone to the handset they say they own shows some disparities. What this indicates is that just because someone has the capability to go online via their mobile doesn’t mean that they do so, or that they are even aware of it.
What we feel the industry needs to do is concentrate on the comparative advantage of the mobile phone. Current communications emphasise services such as social networks and email – great for the early adopting heavy internet user but not so relevant for someone who may check their personal email once in the morning at work and once in the evening at home. To make the mobile internet interesting and relevant to these people, unique benefits relating to mobility and proximity should be promoted. In our research, we identified services such as real-time travel updates and keeping track of vouchers/special offers as being particularly popular.
Best wishes
Simon Kendrick,Essential Research
Justin,
These statistics are simply phenominal.. and something that I find hard to believe given the proliferation of web-ready phones, and especially phones that are designed solely around the use of the mobile web.
It seems unlikely that big players like Apple, Nokia, Motorola, and Palm would all be jumping into the web-ready market if there wasn’t a significant demand for use.
Simon- Thanks for your comment! While it does paint a bleak picture, it’s understandable to a sense (given the disparities you mentioned) that mobile Web usage might not quite be at a level perceived through the hype surrounding it- at least not in the UK anyway.
I’ve always believed that while things such as the mobile Web and new-age mobile technology in general are always “hitting the masses” so to speak, there’s still a large majority of normal every-day users who aren’t even aware they exist.
A recent ICM poll we were involved with came up with 35% of the UK using the mobile internet at least “rarely” with 25% using it more often. Which fits with this. As for not knowing you could access the web on your phone… ICM says it’s only 18%.
Douglas, thanks for the info! The data being supported by Essential Research and ICM definitely represents the true reality of the mobile Web’s expansion- whether it’s what we want to hear or not. Bottom line is there’s still a long way to go, and these types of reports bring that to light.