Mobile the top channel for media in Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia: InMobi

Singaporean mobile web users consume 6 hours of media daily, with mobile devices representing 30 per cent of that time. They surf the internet for social media (19 per cent), entertainment and games (18 per cent), email (15 per cent), general information and search (12 per cent) as well as shopping and local search (9 per cent).

The findings are based on a mobile media survey that was conducted in partnership with marketing insights firm Decision Fuel. The study covered 20 key markets across Asia, Africa, Europe, North and Latin America.

Mobile is also the number one channel for media in Thailand, with 44 per cent of mobile web users saying a mobile device is their preferred method of going online.

“Mobile’s role in the consumer purchase cycle continues to grow,” commented Phalgun Raju, regional director and general manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. “In addition, we also found that 77 per cent of consumers expect to conduct mobile commerce in the next 12 months - a 36 per cent increase from where we are today.”

Six in 10 respondents in Singapore surf the internet while in bed and 48 per cent while waiting. Other mobile device usage occasions include while watching TV (29 per cent), commuting (26 per cent), spending time with family (18 per cent), shopping (15 per cent), at social gatherings (12 per cent) and in the bathroom (11 per cent).

Some 71 per cent are more or equally comfortable with mobile advertising, compared to TV or online ads.

In Vietnam, meanwhile, InMobi served more than six billion ad impressions in Vietnam in the last quarter of 2011, representing a 121 per cent increase from 2.75 billion impressions a year ago. It is largely driven by advanced feature-phone impressions (5.6 billion) rather than smartphone impressions (0.4 billion).

Mobile web users there consume 4.5 hours of media a day on average, of which 35 per cent is via a mobile device, 25 per cent is on TV and 18 per cent is online (via a computer). Nearly 75 per cent say they prefer to surf the internet via their mobiles, driven by reasons of privacy (45 per cent), ease of use (39 per cent) and ready access (22 per cent).

Seven in 10 respondents surf while in bed and 55 per cent while waiting. Other usage occasions include while watching TV (17 per cent), commuting (16 per cent), spending time with family (11 per cent), shopping (9 per cent), in the bathroom (6 per cent), and at social gatherings (4 per cent).

Mobile web users spend 23 per cent of their time on music or videos, 19 per cent on social media, 16 per cent on gaming, 15 per cent on email and 14 per cent on search for general information.

Only 6 per cent of their time is spent on shopping. Nevertheless, 50 per cent have said they are most impacted by advertisements on their mobile when making purchase decisions, and three-quarters of users are more or equally comfortable with mobile advertising as opposed to TV or online ads.

Mobile's impact on the consumer's path to purchase is also significant. More than one-third of respondents said that they have been introduced to something new via mobile advertising, 39 per cent have gotten better options, 22 per cent have found something relevant nearby and 14 per cent reconsidered a product.

The survey also showed that Nokia dominates the market with a 59.2 per cent market share, down from 65 per cent the previous year. It is followed by Samsung (20.5 per cent) and LG (5.9 per cent). Apple, meanwhile, only saw 1.8 per cent market share.

“Mobile’s role in the consumer purchase cycle continues to grow,” commented Phalgun Raju, regional director and general manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. “In addition, we also found that 77 percent of consumers expect to conduct mobile commerce in the next 12 months—a 36 percent increase from where we are today.”

On the other hand, the average mobile web users in Indonesia consume 5 hours of media each day, with mobile devices represent 36 per cent. They use the internet for social media (24 per cent), entertainment (20 per cent), general info and search (16 per cent), email (14 per cent), games (12 per cent), shopping (8 per cent) and local search (6 per cent).

Some 69 per cent of the respondents surf the internet while in bed, and 35 per cent while waiting. Other usage occasions are watching TV (29 per cent), spending time with family (17 per cent), commuting (14 per cent), in the bathroom (6 per cent), shopping (5 per cent) and during social gatherings (5 per cent).

Seven out of 10 respondents are more or equally comfortable with mobile advertising over TV or online ads.