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Mobile Location-Based Services Market to exceed $12bn by 2014

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The combination of smartphone proliferation, a surge in application storefront launches and new developments in hybrid positioning technologies are expected to help drive revenues from mobile location-based services (MLBS) to more than $12.7 billion by 2014, according to a new report from industry analysts at Juniper Research.

Advertising is likely to form an increasing share of MLBS-related revenues over the next five years

Advertising is likely to form an increasing share of MLBS-related revenues over the next five years

The Mobile Location Based Services report found that while MLBS had experienced in number of false dawns over the 2000-2007 period, improvements in handset user interfaces – exemplified by the iPhone – together with easier consumer access to an array of app distribution channels had led to greater interest from service providers in providing MLBS applications. In addition, growth was being further facilitated by the deployment of high capacity network infrastructure and attendant increases in mobile Internet adoption, providing greater opportunities for browser-based services.

Furthermore, the Juniper report noted that advertising was likely to form an increasing share of MLBS-related revenues over the next five years. According to report co-author Dr Windsor Holden, “Location-based applications are extremely interesting for brands and retailers in that they allow those companies to direct consumers to outlets in their vicinity while simultaneously providing information about the products on offer. When these are allied to measures such as mobile coupons and vouchers, you have the combination of information and financial incentive which can be compelling for consumers.”

Other findings from the Mobile Location Based Services Research include:

  • Improving the user experience of MLBS on feature phones will be key in driving usage beyond the core smartphone base
  • Despite the confluence of factors driving growth, deployments may still be affected by constraints including privacy and information security
  • While service usage will be highest in Far East & China over the next five years, greatest revenues will come from Western Europe

About this study

Juniper Research assesses the current and future status of mobile location-based services based on interviews, case studies and analysis from representatives of some of the leading organisations in this critical area of the mobile industry. Whitepaper and further details of the study ‘Mobile Location Based Services: Applications, Forecasts & Opportunities 2009-2014’ can be freely downloaded from http://www.juniperresearch.com.

Blogging loses appeal for US teenagers

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A U.S. study has indicated that US teenagers are losing interest in blogging and switching to shorter and more mobile forms of communication.

Blogging loses appeal for US teenagers - But teens are not using Twitter in large numbers. While teens were bigger users of almost all other online applications, Twitter was an exception, the study found.

Blogging loses appeal for US teenagers – Facebook and Twitter fall to the bottom of the list. Only 19% believe that posts from friends influence them to make a purchase, and 11% cite posts from brands.

The number of 12 to 17-year-olds in the US who blog has halved to 14% since 2006, according to a survey for the Pew Internet and American Life Project. It suggests they prefer making short postings on social networking sites, and going online on mobile phones.

But the study also found a modest rise in blogging by those aged 30 and older. The increase from 7% in 2007 to 11% in 2009 is believed to be responsible for the prevalence of blogging within the overall adult internet population remaining steady at roughly 10%.

Micro-blogging

The study released on Wednesday found that blogging had steadily declined in popularity among both teens and young adults to 14%.

As the tools and technology embedded in social networking sites changed, and use of the sites continued to grow, young people appeared to be exchanging “macro-blogging” for “micro-blogging” with status updates, it concluded.

Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher for Pew and the lead author of the study, told the Associated Press that the ability to do status updates had “kind of sucked the life out of long-form blogging”.

More young people – 55% of 18-29 year-olds and 27% of 12-17 year-olds – were also accessing the internet from their mobile phones, increasing the need for brevity. One student said teenagers had lost interest in blogging because they needed to type quickly and “people don’t find reading that fun”.

But teens are not using Twitter in large numbers. While teens were bigger users of almost all other online applications, Twitter was an exception, the study found.

Ms Lenhart doubts that blogging will disappear. She believes those who blog for personal reasons will instead focus more often on important events such as a wedding, a trip or the birth of baby.

Source: BBC

Social sites eclipse e-mail use

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Social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace are now more popular than personal e-mail, finds a report.

The Nielsen survey of users’ habits found that 67% of all those going online were spending time at social network and blogging sites.

Social sites eclipse e-mail use - Facebook is grabbing more and more of web users' time.

Social sites eclipse e-mail use – Facebook is grabbing more and more of web users’ time.

Interest in the category is growing four times faster than the other top four sectors, said the report. In the UK one in every six minutes of the average web user is spent at a social site, it found.

“Social networking has become a fundamental part of the global online experience,” said John Burbank, chief executive of Nielsen Online in a statement.

“Social networking will continue to alter not just the global online landscape, but the consumer experience at large,” he said.

Nielsen measures interest in categories by the percentage of the web audience that regularly visit such sites. The latest statistics suggest that 65.1% of web users use web e-mail but 66.8% are turning up at social network sites.

This means, said Nielsen, that about one in every 11 minutes a web user is online is spent at one of the sites Nielsen counts in its “Member Communities” category which includes both blogs and social network sites.

Of these sites, Facebook has highest average time per user, found Nielsen.

The researchers also found that social networking sites are managing to reach a very broad swathe of web users. The fastest growing segment of users turning up and using social sites over the last year was among 35-49 year olds.

In particular, the report noted, almost a quarter of Facebook’s users were known to be over 50 years old.

More and more people want to get at their favourite social site and update via mobile, found Nielsen. In the UK the numbers of Britons looking at a social site via their phone was up 249%.

Source: BBC

Mobile To Outpace Desktop Web By 2013

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Looking ahead to 2014, Gartner estimates that 3 billion of the world's adult population will be able to conduct transactions via mobile or Internet technology.

Looking ahead to 2014, Gartner estimates that 3 billion of the world’s adult population will be able to conduct transactions via mobile or Internet technology.

Mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access devices worldwide by 2013, according to a new forecast by research firm Gartner. That’s an even more aggressive outlook than Morgan Stanley’s projection that the mobile Web will outstrip the desktop Web in five years.

Gartner estimates the combined installed base of smartphones and browser-equipped enhanced phones will surpass 1.82 billion units by 2013, eclipsing the total of 1.78 billion PCs by then.

But the firm warns that many sites still are not optimized for the mobile Web, even though cell users expect to make fewer clicks on their phones than on a PC. To successfully expand into mobile, publishers will have to reformat sites from the small form-factor of handheld devices.

Looking ahead to 2014, Gartner estimates that 3 billion of the world’s adult population will be able to conduct transactions via mobile or Internet technology. “Cash transactions will remain dominant in emerging markets by 2014, but the foundation for electronic transactions will be well underway for much of the adult world,” according to the firm.

In a more qualitative prediction, Gartner says that by 2015, context will be as key to mobile consumer services and relations as search engines are to the Web. Where search provides the key method for organizing information and services on the Internet, context will be critical to delivering personalized user experiences on smartphones.

“Context will center on observing patterns, particularly location, presence and social interactions. Furthermore, whereas search was based on a ‘pull’ of information from the Web, context-enriched services will, in many cases, prepopulate or push information to users,” stated the report. New offerings like Google’s “Near me now” feature — providing information on nearby business and services based on a mobile user’s location — come to mind in that vein.

Gartner added that any Web company that doesn’t become a mobile context provider risks handing over customer ownership to a competitor that is providing location-aware or other services that create context for users. As Gartner expects Facebook to be the hub of the social Web by 2012 (it’s not already?), it should also play a key role in social networking to mobile phones.

Three important issues are raised in the article by MediaPost on the Gartner research.

 

Mobile To Outpace Desktop Web By 2013

Mobile To Outpace Desktop Web By 2013

1. Most companies have not optimized their websites for the Mobile Web. To have a good presence on the Mobile Web, an adjusted website for the device must be set in place.

2. Context will be key for mobile just as search engines are for the Web. The context will be able to service the user personalized relevant content (in time).

3. Search engines were based upon pulling information to users at their request, mobile on the other hand will be able to prepopulate or push information on unique aspects as the context, the person and content wanted at that point of time.

Companies need to start thinking about any implications the Mobile Web might have for their business and target groups. Fast consecutive occuring life-cycles will make it much more difficult to intervene when the mobile has come to its peak of importance. A technology like Augmented Reality, which is going to grow the coming years, will even grow further by this, where it could be possible that Proximity Marketing will have a second more contextually relevant chance. Last but not least, this could impact media convergence as well, where TV, PC and Mobile will blend into new cross-media experiences which shall depend much on Mobile as well.

What is your take on this?

Source: Gartner Research

Consumer Searches on Life Insurance Climb

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Target Latino’s note: What I would like to know is  if the growth of the U.S. aging population has an impact on the growth in life insurance searches.

Consumer Searches on Life Insurance Climb

Consumer Searches on Life Insurance Climb

Searches for life insurance information grew to 16.6 million queries, an increase of 15 percent versus the previous year, as more consumers turned to the Web to research policies.

“As more Americans utilize the Internet to research life insurance policies for themselves or family members, it is increasingly important for insurers to have a strong brand presence online,” said comScore director Susan Engleson. “Now more than ever, the Internet is playing an important role in this complex financial planning decision and insurers are experiencing varying degrees of success at meeting online consumers’ needs.”

Consumer Searches on Life Insurance Climb

In 2009, searches containing the term ‘life insurance’ grew 15 percent from the previous year to reach 16.6 million searches. During the same time period, consumers requested 2 million online quotes for life insurance, demonstrating Americans’ increased comfort and reliance on the Internet when shopping for complex financial services.

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Total Searches on Phrases Containing the Term ‘Life Insurance’*

2009 vs. 2008

Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations

Source: comScore Marketer

Searches (MM)

2008       2009     Percent Change

Life Insurance Searches       14.4       16.6         15%

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*Based on broad match of the search term “life insurance”

An analysis of the top insurance sites visited following searches including the term “life insurance” revealed that MetLife.com was the most frequented insurance site visited as a result of the search, with 5.8 percent of total search clicks (paid and organic) landing on MetLife.com. NewYorkLife.com was the second most referred site with 2.8 percent of search clicks, followed by StateFarm.com with 2.5 percent.

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Top Insurance Sites Visited as a Result of ‘Life Insurance’ Searches*

Q4 2009

Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations

Source: comScore Marketer

% of Referred Search Clicks for

‘Life Insurance’ Searches

MetLife.com                          5.8%

NewYorkLife.com                      2.8%

StateFarm.com                        2.5%

SelectQuote.com                      1.7%

Accuquotelife.com                    1.6%

GerberLife.com                       1.5%

RelianceLife.com                     1.4%

GlobeontheWeb.com                    1.2%

Prudential.com                       1.2%

HSBC.com                             1.1%

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*Based on broad match of the search term “life insurance”

Ms. Engleson continued, “The Web gives insurers another touch point to engage with consumers on various levels. Whether it’s providing information on coverage options or fulfilling a quote request, the Internet often represents a critical decision-making phase in the life insurance purchase funnel.”

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.