Smartphone owners more apt to make a major purchase than the general population
Not all smartphone owners are created equal. In fact, depending on the device, smartphone users have differing app usage habits and purchase propensities.
A survey by Prosper Mobile Insights details several distinctions among iPhone, Android and BlackBerry phone owners that may help marketers refine their targeting.
According to Prosper Mobile Insights, Android and iPhone users are the heaviest app downloaders among smartphone owners.
Android and iPhone users also index highly with games and social media apps. Roughly 80% of Android and iPhone users play games on their phones, compared to 64% of BlackBerry users. iPhone owners may watch more video content on their phones compared to other smartphone owners. Prosper Mobile Insights indicates that 38% of iPhone owners use movie and TV show apps, compared to only 24% of BlackBerry owners.
BlackBerry owners reportedly use their devices for more business tasks. Prosper Mobile Insights suggests that more BlackBerry users are business owners and hold managerial positions than other smartphone owners. This may explain the income disparity among the various device users. BlackBerry owners have the highest average annual income, at $84,000, followed by iPhone owners, who have an average income of $83,000. Android users come in with lower incomes than the other two devices, $65,000, which may account for a higher population of students in the mix than the other device holders.
Perhaps because of their higher incomes in general, smartphone owners are also more likely than the general population to make a major purchase—travel, electronics and automobiles—this year. Prosper Mobile Insights survey data suggests that BlackBerry owners may be the most likely group to buy an automobile this year, while iPhone owners are the most likely group to buy computers.
It’s important to take note of the distinctions among smartphone users—especially as the smartphone landscape continues to shift and with it, the characteristics of the smartphone user population.
Android continues to take market share from competitors, while Apple inches upward. eMarketer projects that by 2013 Android will have 42% of the smartphone pie, with Apple an arm’s length behind at 32%. RIM-operated devices, such as BlackBerry, will recede in prominence, declining from 30% of the market in 2010 to 15% in 2013, when eMarketer estimates 48.5% of all US mobile users will have a smartphone.
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Check out today’s other article, “Social Network Ad Revenues to Reach $10 billion Worldwide in 2013.”