Americans are gradually warming up to the idea of buying things via their mobile phones, particularly young adults and men, found a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for the mobile credit card security firm Billing Revolution.
Harris surveyed 2,029 adults from April 29 to May 1; 1,883 of those surveyed were cell phone owners (93%). Close to half (45%) said they think that shopping via cell phones is “somewhat safe,” though just over a quarter (26%) feel that mobile shopping is completely safe.
Regardless, fewer than half of those surveyed (46%) said they would be willing to shop using their cell phones even if safety was not an issue. But attitudes vary based on age and sex, according to Harris. As with many emerging technology-driven habits, younger adults appear more willing to embrace change; 59% of the 18-34 crowd feels that mobile shopping is somewhat safe, versus just 34% of adults over 55. Also, half of men find the concept of cell phone shopping somewhat safe versus 39% of women.
The relative youth, as well as the male-skewing nature of the potential mobile shopping audience seems to influence the sort of purchases respondents indicated they would be willing to make. Harris found that entertainment is likely to emerge as a key mobile commerce category, as willing mobile shoppers said they would be most interested in purchases such as movie tickets, music, mobile video and games.
Officials at Billing Revolution said the survey results indicated that mobile shopping is poised for growth in the near term, as more and more Americans purchase sophisticated smart phones like Apple’s iPhone and spend more time accessing the Internet via these devices. “There’s clearly a large U.S. population of consumers open to the idea of making purchases via their cell phones,” said Andy Kleitsch, CEO Billing Revolution. “With consumers getting more comfortable navigating the Web from mobile phones, mobile commerce is poised for explosive growth, and consumers are very much leading the charge in this direction.”
Walt Mossberg does a great review of the Palm Pre today. If you're considering the device or just curious, you should read it here.
Couple highlights:
"But on June 6, Apple will get a powerful competitor in this category. It's a beautiful, innovative and versatile hand-held computer that's fully in the iPhone's class. It's called the Pre, and it comes from Palm, the company that pioneered the hand-held computer in the 1990s. I've been testing the Pre for a couple of weeks, and I like it a lot, despite some important drawbacks that will have to be remedied."
"All in all, I believe the Pre is a smart, sophisticated product that will have particular appeal for those who want a physical keyboard. It is thoughtfully designed, works well and could give the iPhone and BlackBerry strong competition -- but only if it fixes its app store and can attract third-party developers."
Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference kicks off Monday and according to Financial Times, Apple plans to introduce a cheaper version of its popular iPhone as soon as Monday, in a move that could dramatically increase the company’s share of the smart phone market.
Analysts said that the company is likely to introduce either a $149 phone or a $99 phone, down from the current low end of $199.
Citing a firm survey of consumers, Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty said that a $50 price cut could increase demand for the phone by 50% and a $100 cut by 100%.
Apple sells about 11% of the world’s smart phones, trailing Nokia at 41% and Research in Motion (Blackberry) at 20%, according to Gartner figures from the first quarter.
Consumer research firm, The Nielsen Company, released some interesting data on the iPhone this week. The study found:
- As of April 2009, there are 6.4 million active iPhone users in the U.S., up from 2.1 million a year prior.
- 37% watch video on their phone (6x as likely as the typical subscriber).
- There are roughly as many iPhone users 55 and older as there are 13-24. (see chart)
- 98% of iPhone users use the data features of their phone, services that should improve with the enhanced speed promised by the iPhone 3G S.
- 88% use the Internet (4x as likely as the typical subscriber).
- 75% download apps (5x as likely as the typical subscriber).
- 72% use location based services (7x as likely as the typical subscriber).
None of this data is overly surprising but it is good news for all of us in the mobile data market as more and more consumers will be buying iPhones (and other smartphones) so overall usage of applications, mobile web, mcommerce, etc. is about to explode.