3. M obile
The Next Media Powerhouse
When the first call was placed on a handheld mobile phone in 1973, the
prototype device used was capable of less than 30 minutes of battery life
and took 10 hours to re-charge. Fast-forward some 40 years later and
mobile device ownership has reached critical mass around the world.
Today, these devices serve as the primary communications and media
vehicles for many and play an increasingly important role in the daily
lives of consumers in both developed and high-growth economies.
To better understand today’s mobile world, we’ve selected data from the
following countries – Australia, Brazil, China, India, Italy, South Korea,
Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States – for an in-
depth look at mobile consumers and how they use their devices around
the globe.
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 3
5. Mobile Video
A clear global preference for how to view mobile video content has yet
to emerge. Mobile web and apps are the most likely choices for most
smartphone users, with downloading video clips seeming to be a less
popular method for most.
While generally not considered a replacement for traditional TV viewing,
mobile video is providing consumers with more opportunities to
engage with content at any time, anywhere. The majority of smartphone
consumers said they don’t feel as though mobile video viewing has any
impact on their normal TV habits. The greatest impact of mobile viewing
appears to be in high-growth economies. For example, roughly one-third
of Chinese smartphone users surveyed online said they have increased
their traditional TV viewing habits, while 28 percent of Indian users
believe they watch less traditional TV because of mobile viewing.
Mobile Advertising
With the dramatic growth in mobile usage around the world, content
providers and other publishers are increasingly seeking out new ways to
create value for their content, and brands and advertisers are looking for
more opportunities to get their messages in front of the right audience.
In all countries except India, smartphone owners are most likely to
receive mobile ads about once a day. Indian smartphone owners receive
mobile ads less frequently, with 70 percent seeing them about once a
week or less. In general, smartphone owners in developed markets are
the least likely to engage with mobile ads, while smartphone owners in
high-growth economies are more likely to engage.
About this Report
Nielsen’s 2013 Mobile Consumer Report pulls together findings from
surveys, custom and syndicated research conducted around the world
in 2012. Data collection methodologies and geographic representations
vary by country. Countries where data collection was conducted in
person or on the phone include India and Turkey. For Brazil, data
collection was conducted online, except for mobile and smartphone
penetration figures which were collected by phone.
The following pages contain a snapshot of the differences and
similarities among mobile consumers around the world and offer a
glimpse of the early demographic and behavior trends associated
with new mobile devices in emerging markets. Representing just
some of Nielsen’s mobile capabilities, these insights provide a better
understanding of both the challenges and opportunities that exist as the
mobile landscape continues to evolve.
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 5
7. How many of us use a mobile phone?
Among Consumers Ages 16+
86% - AUS
TRA
LIA
84% - BR
AZIL
89% - CH
INA
81% - IND
IA
97% - ITA
LY
98% - R
USS
99% - SO IA
UT
97% - H
UN K
ITE OR
94% - D
UN K
EA GDO
ITE
IN TATE
D
S
M
S
AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIA
BRAZIL
BRAZIL
CHINA
CHINA
INDIA
INDIA
ITALY
RUSSIA
ITALY
SOUTH RUSSIA
KOREA
SOUTHTURKEY
KOREA
TURKEY
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
UNITED STATES
Sources: Nielsen Global Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Insights, 2012
Note: Total mobile penetration not available for Turkey.
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 7
9. What t ypes of devices do we use?
SMARTPHONE
65% MULTIMEDIA PH
53%
61% 9% 4%
36%
9%
FEATURE PHONE
19% 66% 20%
LTIMEDIA PHONE
38% 31%
9% 4% 10% 10%
44%
21% 30% 11% 11%
67%
37%
62% 61% 25%
9%
9% FEATURE PHON
23%
MULTIMEDIA PHONE
11% 11% 38%80% 31%
27%
9% 4% 51%
21% 30%
9%
20% 9% 61% AUSTRALIA
BRAZIL
CHINA
10% 9% INDIA
23% ITALY
11% 11% RUSSIA
SOUTH KOREA 27%
51%
TURKEY
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
Sources: Nielsen Global Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Insights, 2012
Reported percentages for U.S. are based on Q2 2012 data.
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 9
13. HOW MANY MOBILE DEVICES DO WE OWN?
OWN MULTIPLE MOBILE PHONES OWN ONE MOBILE PHONE
20% 48% 36% 11%
AUSTRALIA BRAZIL CHINA INDIA
35% 51% 16% 7%
ITALY RUSSIA SOUTH KOREA TURKEY
16% 17%
UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES
Sources: Nielsen Global Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Insights, 2012
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 13
15. PHONE USERS PHONE USERS
CHINA INDIA
HAVE A DATA PLAN? 1
AVG MONTHLY BILL HAVE A DATA PLAN? 1 AVG MONTHLY BILL
¥ 100 499
SMART PHONE SMART PHONE
How much does mobile service cost?
USERS USERS
57%
77% ¥ 100 300
ALL MOBILE ALL MOBILE
PHONE USERS PHONE USERS
ITALY RUSSIA
HAVE A DATA PLAN? 1
AVG MONTHLY BILL HAVE A DATA PLAN? 1 AVG MONTHLY BILL
€ 22 РУБ 500
SMART PHONE SMART PHONE
57%
USERS
43% USERS
€ 20 РУБ 400
ALL MOBILE ALL MOBILE
PHONE USERS PHONE USERS
SOUTH KOREA TURKEY
HAVE A DATA PLAN? 1 AVG MONTHLY BILL HAVE A DATA PLAN? 1 AVG MONTHLY BILL
55000 30
SMART PHONE SMART PHONE
USERS USERS
89% 49%
50000 N/A
ALL MOBILE ALL MOBILE
PHONE USERS PHONE USERS
UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES
HAVE A DATA PLAN? 1
AVG MONTHLY BILL HAVE A DATA PLAN? 1 AVG MONTHLY BILL
£ 25 $ 93
SMART PHONE SMART PHONE
USERS USERS
85% £ 20 96% $ 66
ALL MOBILE ALL MOBILE
PHONE USERS PHONE USERS
Do We Pre-Pay or Sign a Contract?
The majority of mobile subscribers in India seemingly prefer pre-paid service to a fixed contract.
In all countries, except Russia and South Korea, mobile subscribers tend to use a pre-paid
service on non-smartphone devices.
1 Data plan percentages for all countries are based on smartphone users only.
Sources: Nielsen Global Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Insights, 2012
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 15
17. TOP SELECTION CRITERIA FOR BUYING MOBILE DEVICES
AUSTRALIA CHINA ITALY SOUTH KOREA UNITED KINGDOM
BRAZIL INDIA RUSSIA TURKEY UNITED STATES
14%
22%
17%
17%
14%
Stylish design 23%
15%
19%
16%
7%
11%
24%
21%
9%
23%
Good operating system 15%
13%
16%
15%
8%
20%
16%
25%
13%
28%
Good value for money 22%
20%
21%
28%
30%
25%
16%
13%
31%
14%
Easy to use 12%
22%
25%
19%
10%
15%
15%
21%
8%
17%
Wide choice of applications 15%
15%
7%
16%
2%
Sources: Nielsen Global Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Insights, 2012
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 17
19. What do we
do with OUR
smartphones?
Even with operating systems that offer consumers high-speed
connections, built-in multimedia features and access to a multitude of
apps, text messaging is still one of the most popular mobile activities
among smartphone owners in all countries. South Korean smartphone
owners are generally the most active when using their smartphone for
multimedia or commerce activities such as web browsing and online
banking, and Brazilians are the heaviest users of social media on their
smartphones.
Among all U.S. mobile
post-paid/contract users
164.5
Average number of calls sent/received per month
644.1
Average voice minutes used per month
764.2
Average number of text messages
sent/received per month
Source: Nielsen Customer Value Metrics, 2012
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 19
21. How do smartphones impact shopping?
Across the board, top smartphone shopping activities include browsing products, price comparison
and reading product reviews.
Smartphone owners in the U.S. are the most likely to use their device for in-store price comparison,
online coupons and purchasing products.
MOBILE BANKING LOCATION-BASED
SERVICES/GPS
38% 40% 48% 39%
56%
28% 28% 34%
4% 42% 10% 52%
7% 8%
51% 59%
22%
33% 42%
46%
BARCODE OR QR SCANNING NFC/MOBILE WALLET
24% 14%
3% 4%
18% 22% 11%
4%
2% 30% 1% 20%
N/A 15% N/A
38% 3%
12% 14% 11%
1 Activities performed among smartphone users within the past 30 Days
Sources: Nielsen Global Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Insights, 2012
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 21
25. How do we watch mobile video?
OTHER
MOBILE WEB APPLICATIONS DOWNLOAD CLIPS OTHER
AUSTRALIA 60% 46% 37% 7%
BRAZIL 64% 49% 38% 3%
22
74% 22
55% 22
39% 22
2%
CHINA MINUTES
39 SECONDS
MINUTES
39 SECONDS
MINUTES
39 SECONDS
MINUTES
39 SECONDS
per visitor per visitor per visitor per visitor
INDIA 60% 33% 57% 2%
ITALY 68% 50% 30% 3%
SOUTH KOREA 22
46%
MINUTES
22
52%
MINUTES
22
19%
MINUTES
22
5%
MINUTES
39 SECONDS 39 SECONDS 39 SECONDS 39 SECONDS
per visitor per visitor per visitor per visitor
RUSSIA 22
60%
MINUTES
22
35%
MINUTES
22
35%
MINUTES
22
9%
MINUTES
39 SECONDS 39 SECONDS 39 SECONDS 39 SECONDS
per visitor per visitor per visitor per visitor
UNITED KINGDOM 55% 59% 23% 5%
UNITED STATES 72% 72% 42% 1%
Source: Nielsen Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Video Report
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 25
27. FREQUENCY OF ACCESING MOBILE VIDEO
among all mobile users who have watched video on their phone in the past 30 days
>3 TIMES/DAY 2-3 TIMES/DAY ONCE/DAY SEVERAL TIMES/WEEK ONCE/WEEK < ONCE/WEEK
7% 7%
15% 17%
8% 6%
22%
33%
18%
AUSTRALIA 18%
BRAZIL CHINA 20%
18%
34%
12%
14%
20% 17%
16%
2% 1% 8% 4%
11% 18% 7%
7%
34% 34%
15%
12%
INDIA ITALY SOUTH
14% KOREA
33%
11% 28%
18% 42%
6% 5% 2% 2%
7%
6% 9% 16%
11% 33%
16%
42%
UNITED UNITED
RUSSIA KINGDOM STATES 31%
22%
16% 21% 42%
13%
Source: Nielsen Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; and Nielsen Mobile Video Report
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 27
29. Impact of Mobile Video on Television Viewing
TRADITIONAL TV VIEWING INCREASED TRADITIONAL TV VIEWING STAYED THE SAME TRADITIONAL TV VIEWING DECREASED
13% 15%
22% 23% 7%
26%
32%
AUSTRALIA BRAZIL CHINA
72% 52% 46%
16% 16% 15%
25% 21%
28%
INDIA ITALY SOUTH
KOREA
47% 68% 65%
7% 5% 9% 8%
11%
19%
UNITED UNITED
RUSSIA KINGDOM STATES
82% 76% 83%
Source: Nielsen Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; and Nielsen Mobile Video Report, US data source is the Connected Device Report, 2012.
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 29
33. How often do we receive mobile ads on our phones?
AMONG smartphone owners who have received ads
AT LEAST ONCE A DAY WEEKLY MONTHLY LESS THAN ONCE PER MONTH
AUSTRALIA
57% 25% 8% 9%
BRAZIL
62% 26% 5% 7%
CHINA
65% 26% 5% 4%
INDIA
30% 39% 15% 16%
ITALY
53% 25% 8% 13%
SOUTH KOREA
78% 16% 4% 1%
RUSSIA
55% 27% 10% 8%
TURKEY
74% 16% 6% 4%
UNITED KINGDOM
58% 29% 8% 4%
UNITED STATES
57% 24% 10% 8%
Sources: Nielsen Global Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Insights, 2012
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 33
35. FEELINGS ABOUT MOBILE ADVERTISING
AUSTRALIA CHINA ITALY SOUTH KOREA UNITED KINGDOM
BRAZIL INDIA RUSSIA TURKEY UNITED STATES
17%
38%
43%
I am more likely to click on 54%
29%
ads that are simple text ads 25%
18%
35%
18%
20%
15%
41%
38%
I am more likely to click 52%
24%
on ads that incorporate 27%
multimedia elements 24%
33%
15%
21%
13%
I am OK with providing personal 31%
31%
52%
information in order to receive 24%
custom advertisement which 23%
23%
match my interests 28%
14%
N/A
38%
50%
47%
I am OK with advertising if it means 54%
39%
that I can access content for free 50%
35%
34%
39%
50%
24%
44%
39%
I am OK with ads which contain 53%
geographically relevant information 35%
39%
based on where I am at a given time 26%
37%
26%
N/A
33%
54%
I am more likely to click on an ad 45%
54%
that does not take me outside of the 31%
34%
application to another website 18%
36%
30%
36%
Sources: Nielsen Global Smartphone Insights, first half of 2012; Nielsen Mobile Insights, 2012
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 35
37. Italy
Online interviews conducted nationally. Respondents were between the
ages of 16 and 64. The incidence module interviewed a total of 1,062
random contacts. Detailed interviews were completed with 1,632 mobile
users, 1,026 of which were smartphone users and 606 of which were
non-smartphone users. Interviews were conducted during March 2012.
South Korea
Online interviews conducted nationally. Respondents were between the
ages of 16 and 64. The incidence module interviewed a total of 1,041
random contacts. Detailed interviews were completed with 1,765 mobile
users, 1,145 of which were smartphone users and 620 of which were non-
smartphone users. Interviews were conducted during February 2012.
Russia
Online interviews conducted in 12 major metros. Respondents were
between the ages of 16 and 64. The incidence module interviewed a
total of 1,039 mobile users to determine the type of primary handset
used. Detailed interviews were completed with 1,645 mobile users, 912
of which were smartphone users and 733 of which were non-smartphone
users. Interviews were conducted during March-April 2012. Due to the
online-only methodology in Russia, which excludes a large portion of
Russia’s rural population, smartphone penetration may skew high.
Turkey
Face-to-face interviews conducted in large and medium metros.
Respondents were between the ages of 16 and 64. The incidence
module interviewed a total of 4,042 random contacts. Detailed
interviews were completed with smartphone users only. The sample
achieved was 776 Smartphone users. Interviews were conducted during
April-May 2012.
U.K.
Online interviews conducted nationally. Respondents were between the
ages of 16 and 64. The incidence module interviewed a total of 1,025
random contacts. Detailed interviews were completed with 1,607 mobile
users, 995 of which were smartphone users and 612 of which were non-
smartphone users. Interviews were conducted during March 2012.
The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot 37