Monday Morning Mobile: Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop; Mobile Growth

When you stop and think about it, it's amazing how fast the mobile space has changed over the past five years. Five years ago Blackberry was the predominant device on the market, while both the Android OS and iOS were both first being released.

By the end of 2012, mobile app revenues will pass the $30 billion mark. While this includes all platforms, it is primarily from the two most predominant players in the market, Google and Apple. This figure encompasses paid apps, free apps, all in-app purchases, subscriptions and in-app ad revenues. This is over double what revenues were for this sector last year.

In a recent survey of 150 US mobile marketing professionals, 86% indicated that they use their mobile marketing initiatives for new client acquisition, and 79% for awareness. This is very consistent with what we see in the real estate space, where many firms are using tools such as text message lead generation and QR codes on their signs, print ads and marketing materials to engage home buyers throughout their local markets. Once they are able to get consumers in the door through these channels, they are then able to provide additional information to them through a robust mobile website and/or app presence.

As smartphone devices continue to penetrate the market, the growth in consumer engagement though the mobile channel will only continue to increase rapidly, both here in the U.S. and internationally.

Think for a moment of markets like India and China. In India, the announcement of a $25 tablet could mean as many 3 billion new mobile internet users using a 7-inch tablet screen that can connect via Wi-Fi or SIM card on cellular networks. These tablets will have all the standard Android Apps and run on the Android operating system. This presents tremendous growth potential for the app sector, which already grew by over 100% year-over-year.

In addition, since 2007, the U.S. had led the mobile revolution with more smartphone installations than any other country. However, that's soon to change. China, which currently has 167 million active iOS and Android device users, is only 14 million shy of the U.S. right now. With their growth rate of smartphone installations over 300%, they will soon overtake the U.S. as the country with the most smartphone users. Again, this presents a tremendous growth opportunity not only for the app sector, but for the mobile sector in general.

Already more people around the globe have access to the internet and all the information it provides because of the connectivity that mobile devices offer. As a leader in the smartphone space, the U.S. and U.S. based firms need to lead the way in transitioning our content, businesses and brands to effectively communicate with mobile users both home and abroad.