Smartphone apps: don’t leave home without them

By Phil Talbot – go to guy | mobile ordering | saavi

People and smartphones won’t soon be parted

Continuing this series on statistics, here’s Google’s Our Mobile Planet chart of how Americans feel about the importance of their smartphones compared to other media/devices:

Notice an overwhelming majority (80 percent) feel they should not leave home without their smartphones. Compare that with the results for China:

Figures for China are higher for all the responses except for the “never leave home without it” part — only half of the response in the United States (the sample size for each country was 1000).

What do these mean? These figures only confirm that what works for one country may not work for another.

If you’re thinking of doing business in these two countries, these statistics will give you a clue how to approach your marketing.

Chinese are more ready to give up TV, find smartphones (especially Internet access through smartphones) more entertaining than TV, and prefer smartphones for reading the news more than Americans. (You would, too, if your media and national news are state-controlled.) It could also mean that American TV programming and news sources are more interesting (or more trusted).

But one thing’s for sure: Chinese would be spending more time on their smartphones than they would watching TV or reading newspapers.

With regards to “don’t leave home without it” response, does the data imply that less Chinese own smartphones than Americans? Yes, but the number of mobile phone subscribers in China are twice that in the United States (based on data by NationMaster.com):

And the number of smartphone owners in China is fast growing (thanks to Android and cheap Chinese smartphones).

The incredible growth of China’s retail market ($2.1 trillion in 2011 alone) has global businesses licking its collective lips at the prospects.

Americans may not be leaving home without their smartphones more than the Chinese, but the Chinese use their smartphones at work more than Americans:

Surprisingly, it appears Chinese are more free to use their smartphones at work than Americans. Based on current news and policies on intellectual property issues, this may not be surprising.

In contrast, more Americans use their smartphones in a store than Chinese so it’s a more or less give or take situation when it comes to marketing via smartphones.

Be ready

But, in tune with the prediction that smartphone use would outpace desktop computer use in 2014, expect ownership of smartphones to further accelerate a year from now.

Whether you do business in the US, in China, or elsewhere, you’d do well not to ignore the business potential of smartphone users. You can reach them through mobile friendly websites, mobile ads, or mobile ordering apps — but, by all means, reach them.

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Phil Talbot is founder of SAAVI – the mobile ordering specialists and the resident expert in mobile ordering systems. You can follow SAAVI on Facebook.