How consumers are engaging on mobiles

Don't forget the cell phones. That could be the one fact that marketers need to remember from a recent Experian report. The report found that in 30 countries cell phones have reached 100% usage per capita.

by Kristina Knight

The US, surprisingly, isn't one of the countries currently at the 100% rate and is not expected to reach 100% until about 2013.

The report finds that there are nearly 3 billion mobiles currently in use. If you need a reference point, consider the fact that in 2001, only about 13% of consumers worldwide were using mobiles and by 2010, more than 70% of the population will be connected by cell.

The most popular cell phone activity remains talking. Second (59% engagement level) is text messaging, followed by taking pictures (49%) and downloading ring tones (17%). Accessing the mobile web and email are increasingly popular activities on mobile phones.

SMS messaging beats out email nearly 2 to 1. Why the difference? Because users view SMS messages as more targeted to their wants or needs. In fact, most SMS messages are read within 15 minutes. Consumers aren't all wrong about the difference between email and SMS; according to the study, about 65% of emails are spam while only about 10% of text messages are spam.