ABI research released survey data (n=1,000 US consumers) that show growth in daily mobile Internet access and healthy mobile response rates to ads. Here’s what the data show at the top level:
- 27% of mobile Internet users have clicked on a banner or text link
- 28% of mobile phone users access Internet sites at least once a day from their phones vs. 16% in the company’s 2008 survey
- Just under 45% of survey respondents, “while not enthusiastic, would accept promotions if they had some control over the process.” This compares to 36% in the firm’s 2008 survey.
- Consumers are cautious about making purchases from their phones, with almost 3/4 citing security concerns as an inhibitor
This is just one survey in a sea of surveys. These metrics are apparently for all mobile users; smartphone user behavior is different, with more engagement and greater response to ads.
We have data from proprietary Internet2Go surveys and third party sources that show daily mobile Internet access between 30% and up to nearly 60% (for smartphone users) depending on the survey and population. Accordingly the ABI numbers are very low in terms of smartphone users but generally high in terms of the overall market.
In terms of ad response rates, there’s AOL-Universal McCann data from mid-2009 that show “38% of smartphone owners have taken acton in response to mobile ads.” But generally response rates to mobile advertising are 10x to 20x comparable PC-Internet-based advertising.
Regarding coupons and promotions, there are a lot of data (attitudinal and behavioral) that show greater and more positive consumer response to deals/offers than the reluctant acceptance suggested above. The numbers go up if users own smartphones and use the mobile Internet, but it’s also true of SMS users:
