Aussies Prefer Mobile Phones over TVs
Announcement posted by Ovato 05 Dec 2014
AIMIA Releases Tenth Annual Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index
- 61 per cent of respondents chose a mobile phone over a TV while 70 percent chose a car over a mobile phone.
- When given the choice between a mobile phone, half would choose a mobile phone, 34 per cent would select a PC and 16 percent of respondents would choose a tablet.
- Approximately 30 per cent of respondents claimed that they always use their mobile phone while in bed, and watching TV, while 39 per cent always use their phone while travelling on public transport.
- 34 per cent of respondents only have a mobile phone and no landline (home) phone.
- The PC is the preferred device for making purchases over tablets and mobile phones, with 93 per cent of PCs making purchases on their device. This is compared to 73 per cent of tablet owners who had made a purchase on their tablets, and 58 per cent of mobile phone owners, who had made a purchase on their mobile phones.
- Just over a third of respondents don’t want to receive personalised ads on their mobile phone, personal computer or tablet.
“For the first time this year we’ve explored the perceived value of the mobile phone and the use of the mobile phone during daily activities,” said Dr Marisa Maio Mackay, Director of Complete the Picture Consulting, the official research partner for the 2014 AMPLI report. We also explored the use of the mobile phone as a device, not only a communication and Internet platform, by collecting the respondent’s interest in using the mobile phone as a TV remote control, credit card, and EFTPOS card.
“The results for the use of the mobile phone suggest that 2014 has been a year of consolidation with minimal change from the 2013 results. However, in the next 12 months 14 per cent to 21 per cent of respondents still plan to increase their uses of the phone for a range of purposes, including banking, buying things online, getting information, searching, visiting and browsing the Internet, and for entertainment. Coupled with the interest in the use of the mobile phone as a device as well as a communication and Internet platform, the possibilities for the development of engaging content and mobile phone uses appear endless for innovative businesses.”
“This year’s AMPLI survey reveals the extent to which Australians value their mobile phones and how they see them evolving to suit their needs,” said Rob Wong, CEO for AIMIA. “Many respondents would like to use their phone as a credit or EFTPOS cards – this shows me the future of banking is clearly tied to smartphones.”
Special Topic: Mobile Phone Use compared to Tablets and PCs
53 per cent of respondents owned a mobile phone, a PC and a tablet. Just under 90 per cent of respondents owned both a PC and a smartphone while only 58 per cent of respondents owned a tablet, which is consistent with the results from last year. Despite this low level compared to the smartphone and PC, few respondents plan to purchase a tablet in the next 12 months, which suggests tablet ownership will stabilise unless something occurs that stimulates uptake of these devices.
Voice and SMS are associated with the mobile phone and are critical differentiators when compared to the computer and tablet. Respondents were asked to rank the top ways they use their mobile phone; 26 per cent ranked voice calls either first or second while 34 per cent ranked SMS first or second with emailing a distant third ranked first or second by 12 per cent of respondents.
Unlike the mobile phone, the PC and tablet don’t have one or two ‘foundation’ services but instead have a cluster of services ranked either first or second by up to a quarter of the respondents. For the PC these services are:
- To send and receive emails (25 per cent)
- To visit websites and/or browse or search the internet (20 per cent)
- To get information (18 per cent)
- To read or edit documents or files (15 per cent)
- To visit websites and/or browse or search the internet (24 per cent)
- For entertainment purposes (21 per cent)
- To get information (19 per cent)
- To send and receive emails (17 per cent)
- PC users purchased a wider range of products and services
- 63 per cent of PC users claimed to be very satisfied with their purchase experience compared to 40 per cent of tablet users and a quarter of mobile phone users
- 65 per cent of respondents prefer to research products and services on a PC
- Respondents who use the PC for purchases claimed it was “easier to see and read”, had a “bigger screen size” and it was more secure.
Mobile Phones and Multi-tasking
Also for the first time this year, the research looked at the use of mobile phones during day-to-day activities. Results clearly demonstrated that respondents use mobile phones when doing something else with at least 74 per cent using their mobile phone at least sometimes while watching TV, eating a meal alone, travelling on public transport and while in bed. Approximately 30 per cent of respondents went claimed they always use their mobile phone in bed and TV while 39 per cent claimed they always use their phone on public transport.
The Mobile Phone is Valued above Tablets and Personal Computers
Another first was perceived value of the mobile phone. When given the choice between a car and a mobile phone, 70 per cent of respondents chose a car. However, when it came to TV versus the mobile phone, 61 per cent chose a mobile phone.
Mobile phones reigned the most popular of the smart devices with half of the respondents choosing the device when given the choice of tablet, PC or mobile. Just over a third selected the PC and only 16 per cent opted for a tablet. When looking at geoTribes, the perceived ‘value’ of the mobile phone was greater among young singles and/or couples and less ‘valued’ among the older respondents regardless of their socio-economic status.
Future and Desired Use of The Mobile Phone
The survey asked respondents about their expected future use of the mobile phone. Approximately 20 per cent of the respondents currently using their mobile phone for emails, getting information and web browsing intend to increase this usage in the next 12 months. Between 14 and 17 per cent of respondents currently using their phone for voice calls, SMS, entertainment, banking and buying things online intend to increase their usage over the next 12 months.
Almost 40 per cent of respondents would like to be able to use their mobile phone as an EFTPOS card or TV remote control while just over a third of respondents want to use their phone as a credit card. Of particular interest is that 14 per cent of respondents stated they were already using their mobile phones as a TV remote control, while 5 per cent and 7 per cent respectively were already using their phones as an EFTPOS and credit card.
It is interesting to note that almost half of the respondents were not interested in receiving any offers on their mobile phones from a brand they liked. The two most preferred locations to receive an offer were in the respondent’s home (22 per cent) and near the brand’s store (20 per cent).
Smartphone vs Landline Ownership and Handset Market Share
89 per cent of respondents owned a smartphone, which is consistent with 88 per cent of respondents last year. This follows three years of steady increases in smartphone ownership from 67 per cent in 2011 to 88 per cent last year.
For the first time this year survey respondents were asked about their use of a landline (home) phone. Just over a third of respondents don’t have a landline and only 18 per cent of respondents have a landline and use it a lot, whilst 48 per cent own one but do not use it a lot. Those who use landline phones use it for phone calls and internet connection.
Unsurprisingly Apple handset ownership increased from 45 per cent in 2013 to 49 per cent in 2014, displaying a continued and steady increase in popularity over the last five years. Samsung is the second key player in the handset market with 25 per cent of respondent ownership. However, the growth rate of Apple ownership continues to slow, while Samsung handset brand ownership did not increase from last year and actually experienced a slight decline. All other handset brands appear to be struggling for market share.
Carrier Services Satisfaction
Satisfaction with carrier services was again consistent with results from last year with just over 80 per cent of respondents claiming they are very or somewhat satisfied with the services provided by carriers. Variation, however, occurred across the carriers for the range of services:
- Overall satisfaction was higher among Virgin respondents (88 per cent), followed closely by Telstra respondents at 85 per cent with satisfaction for Telstra’s network coverage again a standout service.
- Optus was the only carrier to record a decrease in overall satisfaction from 2013 (85 percent to 79 per cent in 2014)
- Vodafone had recovered considerably since last year’s comparatively low satisfaction levels (75 per cent from 62 per cent in 2013) meaning it is now on par with the satisfaction levels of the other carriers.
In response to the method in which they pay their phone bill 75 per cent were on monthly bill options. There has been a slight decline, from 80 per cent to 75 per cent of respondents, over the last four years who have spent less than $80 per month on their monthly mobile phone spend.
Just over 80 per cent of respondents have had a mobile data allowance included in their monthly bill or pre-paid amount, a figure which appears to have stabilised this year. Notably, the 501MB to 1GB of data category has experienced growth from 7 per cent last year to 16 per cent this year, perhaps due to the number of carrier packages that include 1GB or increased awareness among Australians of the ‘value’ of 1GB of data. 30 per cent of respondents had purchased a data allowance or data pack in addition to their regular payment, a figure which has more than doubled since the question was last asked in the 2011 survey.
Entertainment, Information and Communications Services Accessed
High-level and medium-level uses of specific entertainment, information and communication services accessed on mobile phones showed the following. High-level use was calculated by combining those that used the mobile phone for a given purpose at least five times a day plus at least once a day. Medium-level users were defined as those that used the mobile phone for the given purpose “at least once a week” plus “at least once a month”
- Games clearly had the greatest percentage of high-level users (27 per cent), followed by music downloads (14 per cent)
- 22 to 29 percent of respondents are medium-level users of games, music downloads, video downloads and music streaming
- Just under 10 per cent of respondents pay for a subscription to a music streaming service. Of these respondents, almost 60 per cent are paying for Spotify, 17 per cent for Apple iTunes Radio and 15 per cent for Pandora
- Weather (46% high-level users) and news (43% high-level users) were the most popular information services accessed in terms of frequency of use. An additional 30% were medium-level users.
- Maps and location services and traffic information were equally popular but used less frequently, with 50 per cent of respondents claiming medium-level use and 23 per cent high-level users
- Email (58 per cent high level users) and social networking sites (57 per cent high level users) were clearly the most frequently used communication services on the mobile phone while ‘Instant Messenger and Social Networking’ experiencing the greatest growth (9 per cent increase) from 52 per cent in 2013 to 61 per cent in 2014.
In line with many of the overall patterns being produced from the results of the 2014 survey in comparison with previous years, the proportion of respondents who have successfully downloaded and installed an application to their mobile phone has stabilised at around 80 per cent. This follows substantial growth from 2010 to 2013.
The most popular types of applications used by respondents were:
- Maps and navigation (82 per cent)
- News and weather (72 per cent)
- Games (66 per cent)
- Photos, videos and movies (62 per cent)
- Instant Messaging and Social Networking (with notable growth from 52 per cent in 2013 to 61 per cent in 2014)
Advertising Across Mobile Phones, Tablets and Personal Computers
Just over a third of respondents do not want to receive personalised ads on their mobile phone, personal computer or tablet. Around 30 per cent of respondents are happy to receive ads that are relevant to them across the three devices as long as they can control the information the advertiser has about them. Over 50 per cent of respondents indicated they purchased a product of service following interaction with a banner advertisement on 20 per cent or less occasions.
Wearable Technology
The survey again asked respondents about wearable technology and this year’s feedback demonstrates that there has been a small increase in ownership of wearable technologies from last year and a small increase in intended purchase in the next 6-12 months. The results indicate that wearable technologies are still very much an emerging and unknown reality for most respondents. This area is likely to be of continuing interest for many businesses that use the mobile to interact with customers or clients.
About the AMPLI Report
The AMPLI report is a collaborative industry research project carried out by the Mobile Industry Group (MIG), a special interest group of AIMIA . The report is authored by official research partner Complete the Picture Consulting. The official 2014 gold sponsors of the AMPLI report are Amobee and Telstra. The official silver sponsor is AdRoll. Supporters of the project include Mobile Experience and RDA Research. The survey was also promoted by Mi9, Optus Advertising, Fairfax Media, News Corp Australia, Yahoo!7 and Telstra Media as well as key AIMIA sponsors mentioned above.
- Ends -
Media contacts:
Sabine Leroy
Spectrum Communications
02 9469 5700
aimia@spectrumcomms.com.au
About the AMPLI Survey
This research is the tenth survey of the longitudinal analysis of mobile phone behaviour, usage and preferences. The first report was delivered in August 2005, the second in May 2006, the third in March 2007, the fourth in August 2008, the fifth in September 2009, the sixth in October 2010, the seventh in October 2011, the eighth in September 2012 and the ninth in October 2013.
The special topic of this survey, decided by the Mobile Industry Group, was ‘Mobile Phone Use compared to the Tablet and Personal Computer’. Previous special topics have included: ‘The Impact of 3G’, ‘Advertising on the Mobile Phone’, ‘Communities and User Generated Content’, ‘Mobile Commerce’, ‘Mobile Phone Applications’, ‘Mobile Phone Advertising’ and Marketing’, ‘The Impact of Tablets on Mobile Phone Use’ and ‘Mobile Retail’.
The overall objective of the study is to gain insights into the current and changing profile, behaviour and preferences of Australian mobile phone users over time. It remains the only known national independent tracking study that makes its comprehensive results freely available to all interested parties.
This project is the only independent and open study of the Australian market that has been carried out with the support of major industry partners. The sample size used for this analysis was 1,405 respondents. The results of the 2014 Survey sample can be generalised to Australian mobile phone owners between 18 and 75 years of age.
About AIMIA
AIMIA is the digital industry association for Australia, representing the digital content, services and applications industry since 1992. With more than 400 digital businesses across Australia among its members, AIMIA exists to encourage and support the growth of the digital industry through education, training and advocacy. www.aimia.com.au