Smart Phone Owners More Likely to Recall Seeing Ads Than Tablet Owners
Among the many highlights from eMarketer’s “Smart Devices: Phones, Tablets & More — Opportunities for Marketers” webinar is that smart phone users and tablet users have different tendencies when it comes to advertising on their devices. Also, the emergence of tablets will disrupt both the PC and mobile markets.
In 2011, eMarketer expects there to be 73.3 million U.S. smart phone users, up 21.9 percent from the 60.2 million users in 2010. This figure is expected to rise to 109.5 million by 2015.
Though smart phones are becoming more and more commonplace, tablets are also surging in popularity. While 15.7 million tablets were solid worldwide in 2010, this figure is expected to surge 178 percent to 43.6 million in 2011. In 2010, eMarketer forecasts that 81.3 million tablets will be sold, up 87 percent from 2011.
In 2010, the iPad claimed 85 percent of total tablet sales worldwide. This share is expected to be 78 percent in 2011, and 69 percent in 2012. Still, in the U.S., just 7.6 percent of the population, or 24 million consumers, are expected to own tablets in 2011.
Citing October numbers from Nielsen, the webinar noted that 18 percent of consumers said they were interested in buying an iPad in the next six months.
According to eMarketer, though Apple’s iOS is expected to maintain its lead in the U.S. smart phone OS market through 2011, the tides will turn in 2012, when Google’s Android OS will claim 31 percent of the market and iOS will claim 30 percent. RIM is expected to have 23 percent of the market, while Microsoft is forecasted to have 13 percent.
This battle between Apple, Android and Microsoft extends into the tablet market. Android is expected to pull very close to Apple in 2012, according to a forecast from Piper Jaffray.
Smart phones and tablets are becoming increasingly dynamic everyday devices, according to various reports and statistics. Even the enterprise is becoming a friendlier place for tablet devices, as businesses are using the iPad more often for everyday tasks, including accessing the Internet, checking e-mail and working away from the office.
Among the implications for marketing and advertising is that executives are expecting the usage of multiples devices/platforms to be a trend with big impact in the coming 3-5 years.
Also, while the iPhone remains the mobile device with the most interest as a channel for advertising for U.S. ad agencies, BlackBerry and Android devices are also garnering interest.
Concerning apps vs. browsers, eMarketer doesn’t expect an “either/or” outcome. For users, both have their strong appeals. Most research, eMarketer notes, points to the finding that smart phone owners are equally active in using the mobile Web and mobile apps.
There’s also a notable growth in free apps, while paid apps are falling behind and even seeing declining prices across the board. However, in-app purchases are becoming a more important source of revenue for brands and developers, according to a study from Distimo.
Citing a MobiLens study, eMarketer notes that while smart phone users are more likely to recall seeing ads than feature phone users are, tablet owners are more receptive to a range of ad formats, including videos, product feature information and photo galleries/slideshows.
The four key takeaways, according to eMarketer, are:
- Mobile platform competition remains fierce, spearheaded by Apple and Android
- Android is growing quickly at the expense of RIM/BlackBerry and Nokia/Symbian
- Tablets will extend the OS competition into a new market segment
- Smart phones and tablets serve different purposes, which necessitates attention in order to find payoffs in user experience
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