Acting on the Evolution of the Canadian Smartphone User
March 2014
Authors:
Prabhakar Sundaram, Analytics Manager, GroupM Next Jesse Wolfersberger, Director, Consumer Insights, GroupM Next Matthew Jenkins, Marketing Coordinator, Catalyst Canada
The mobile revolution is complete –
55% of Canadians now own a
smartphone according to new research from Catalyst, conducted by GroupM Next.
For brands and marketers, the story of smartphone growth is no longer about market penetration; it is about where and how consumers use them. A survey of 1,100 smartphone owners in Canada, both English- and French-speaking, reveals the maturation of smartphone behaviour in terms of the types of tasks done in certain locations and their biggest frustrations when using them. Smartphones are used for all types of activities ranging from low-involvement tasks, such as getting a quick look at the weather or the score of a sports game, to using Facebook or Twitter, to more involved activities such as long-form content consumption, online transactions or informative searches for high-involvement purchases. What we’ve seen as a result of this research is the emergence of three key browsing locations where Canadians engage in these different tasks, all holding equally important brand implications.
This research focuses on the three overarching locations –
“On the Go,” “At Home” and “At Work”
– and the
specic activities aligning with these situations.
“Half of Canadian smartphone owners have owned one for at least two years, while 14% have owned one for more than
ve years”
The Three Smartphone Usage Locations
Smartphone Activities by Location
On the Go
• Social Media• Weather • Sports Scores• Long-Form
Content Consumption
• Online Purchasing• Information Search of
High Consideration Purchases
• Email• Stock Quotes• Banking
At HomeAt Work
© Catalyst 2014
2
Source: Catalyst Mobile Research
Perhaps the most complicated task in this list is nding
a new restaurant to try. Customers now have the freedom to search for and retrieve information on the go. This makes it more important than ever for a marketer to have Web-based assets that are easily found through a variety of different channels. This goes beyond the restaurant industry alone to any brand wanting to be in front of customers when they are looking for related information.
If nding a restaurant is one of the top on-the-go
activities, certainly other task-oriented behaviours
could be as well – such as nding a store or a product.
Our research shows 70% of smartphone users have used their smartphone to search for product-related
information while in a store. The signicance of this
is evidenced in research conducted by Catalyst and GroupM Next in 2013 (Retail Showrooming in Canada)
that shows Canadian shoppers would leave the store if the in-store price was 10% higher than the price online. Perhaps less expected is how often these consumers search for product information in other places— 65% while standing in line, 65% while eating and 60% during commute. These are not simply generic searches either; these are intent-driven, product-related searches happening in locations most brands may not target. Even beyond targeting these areas, brands need to understand that as technology advances, consumers will continue to demand more timely and relevant communication.When asked about the top frustrations users have with on-the-go smartphone experiences, 26% indicated load times, 23% mentioned bad mobile websites and 21% indicated too much typing. This combines to 70% of the frustration for people browsing on the go. Because
nding a new restaurant to try is the only commerce-related task among the top ve on-the-go activities,
the results also reveal that the restaurant industry
is the rst to solve these common frustrations and
provide a positive, consistent user experience.People who have owned a smartphone for two or more years are 50% more likely to be frustrated by a bad mobile website than people who have owned a smartphone for less than two years. Smartphone veterans have different expectations about what a mobile experience should be, and are increasingly frustrated when they have a bad one. This sentiment is both a view of current smartphone veterans surveyed for this research and a glimpse into the future of new smartphone users. Today’s smartphone rookies will be smartphone veterans in less than two years; therefore, the importance of a seamless experience will be a market-wide expectation in short order.
Top Smartphone Activities
While on the Go
% of consumers most often using a smartphone to accomplish these activities
Of those who use their
smartphone, % that do it on the go
Get directionsFind a new restaurant to tryCheck the weatherUse TwitterCheck score of a sports game
53%36%55%41%39%81%60%40%40%36%
65% have used their smartphones to search for product-related information while standing in a line, 65% while eating and 60% during their commute
On-the-go activities are done while traveling, shopping, eating, or any other period without access to home or work computers. © Catalyst 2014
3
Source: Catalyst Mobile Research
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