Asia is not only the most populous continent on Earth, it is also home to the countries with the highest proportion of consumers who interact with brands on a daily basis through their mobile phones. And is China the country that is raising the statistics with the most push.
A recent study by the FICO firm on consumer behavior habits reveals something that other statistics predicted: China is the New-Zealand Mobile Database country with the highest percentage of native mobile users, those who interact via mobile daily with companies such as banks, retailers, insurance companies or government agencies.
51% of the Chinese population is native to mobile use, closely followed by Koreans (50%) and Indians (49%). Interestingly, in the most economically developed countries we find the lowest figures: the United States (16%), Japan (15%) or France (12%).
At the beginning of the month the most populous country in the world reached the barrier of 400 million mobile users. Smartphone penetration has made great strides in recent years and already stands at 28.5% (eMarketer). Advertising forays into this fertile environment are still small for the potential it presents, but in 2014 China is expected to become the second largest digital advertising market, behind only the United States. And the mobile will have a lot to say in this development.
Currently 42% of the 1.3 billion inhabitants of the country of the rising sun use the Internet. A relatively young audience, under the age of 39, familiar with social networks (which allows strict government censorship) and very confident in the opinions of family and friends, almost twice what they are in other Western countries such as the United States . Furthermore, the number of mobile users is expected to exceed 500 million in 2015 (eMarketer). In view of its predilection for this device when it comes to engaging in conversation with brands, there is no doubt about the opportunities that a country of these characteristics opens up to advertisers.
The exponential growth that China is experiencing in these terms will contribute to the fulfillment of the forecasts and by 2014, the entire Asia-Pacific region will overtake North America as an advertising market. Internet penetration, mobile use, and expanding ad spending are paving the way.
It is true that mobile advertising investment is still in its early stages, because the smartphone is practically a newcomer. But its growth rate is predicted to be frantic: in 2014 we will double the 722 million investment planned for the Brother Cell Phone List of this year and the brand will beat again in 2015, when mobile investment reaches 2,210 million euros.
Consumers with their usage preferences are setting the direction for companies to follow. It is they who are leading the mobile revolution and it seems clear that their needs for interaction with brands on these devices will grow over time.
