Texting Top Smartphone Activity

June 30, 2011

Texting is the most popular activity among US smartphone users, with 38% texting constantly throughout the day, according to [sign-in page] a June 2011 report from ExactTarget. Data from “Mobile Dependence Day” shows texting is followed in frequency of constant use by phone calls (31%) and email (29%).

Internet, Facebook Used Constantly by Close to 1 in 5 Smartphone Owners

There is a substantial drop in the percentage of smartphone users performing activities constantly after email, with 18% constantly browsing the internet and 17% constantly checking Facebook. The rate of constant Twitter use is less than one-third that of constant Facebook use (5%).

1 in 3 Smartphone Users Have Checked Bank Account

One in three (34%) have checked their bank account via smartphone at least once. Mobile banking was by far the most popular of 14 activities studied by ExactTarget. The next most popular, checking in using location-based networking, was performed at least once by 28% of smartphone users, an 18% decrease in frequency.

Once again, mobile Facebook proved far more popular than mobile Twitter. Twenty-seven percent of smartphone users have liked a company on Facebook, more than five times the 5% who have shared an article via Twitter.

Mobile Email Most Effective Purchase Trigger for Smartphone Users

Email is by far the most effective mobile marketing trigger of purchases, with 55% of the 16% of smartphone users who have made at least one purchase doing so after receiving a mobile promotional email. Text messaging (35%), Facebook (35%) and shopping apps (32%) also show strong potential to influence purchase behavior among smartphone users. Twitter (20%) is 43% less likely to trigger a purchase than Facebook.

Android users are the most likely to report making a mobile purchase after receiving some type of mobile promotional message (21%), followed by owners of Windows phones (19%), iPhones (17%), and Blackberries (10%).

PC Most Popular Way to Execute Triggered Purchase

Forty-three percent of smartphone users who have made at least one purchase as a result of a mobile marketing message have done so via computer. Another 35% have done so in person, slightly more than the 34% who have done so via smartphone browser. About 10% fewer (31%) have made a mobile-triggered purchase via smartphone app. Calling the company is the least popular method of purchase completion (18%).

Other Findings

• 15% of smartphone owners (6% of the overall online population) report having redeemed a mobile coupon, with women being more likely than men to utilize this capability (18% compared to 12%).
• 20% of smartphone owners have browsed competitor prices while in a store.
• 24% of smartphone owners (10% of the overall online population) report having scanned a QR code or similar barcode to obtain more information about a product, business, or event.
• Women 18-24 are actually the least likely to use their smartphones for calling; only 56% say they make calls at least several times per day.
• 89% of online US consumers 18 and up own a cell phone.

comScore: Mobile Social Networking Grows

The frequency of mobile social networking grew about 10% between the three-month period ended January 2011 and the three-month period ended April 2011, according to comScore MobiLens data. Twenty-eight percent of US mobile subscribers accessed a social networking site via mobile phone in April, compared to 25.3% in January.