2012 is predicted to be the ‘year of the mobile’ as Apple managed to exceed expectations for 2011 sales. An astounding 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPads were sold and, according to CEO Tim Cook, the number of iPads purchased in Q4 exceeded the number of PCs. According to Forrester’s Western European Mobile Forecast 2011-2016 smartphone penetration is likely to reach 56%.
This will have a major impact upon the way businesses will need to connect to consumers. Currently, 33% of US retailers operate a mobile channel and that number is increasingly rapidly, in an attempt to reduce queues and improve customer service. Studies by Visa have suggested it is highly likely that half of all payments in Europe will be made by mobile by 2010.
Not only will mobile change the way consumers interact with products, it is likely to change the nature of the products offered. Digitally enhanced products, such as Nike+ trainers that allow users to track their workout progress, are likely to become more common. This will work hand-in-hand with the sorts of promotional mobile apps are already rolling out. These typically give users an additional way to interact with existing material (such as Moosejaw’s ‘x-ray’ app letting users scan the catalogue to see images of its models in their underwear, or Pringles’ ‘music making’ app, letting users unlock additional instruments by scanning barcodes).
However, some sectors have no adapted well as a result of this shift. Google’s turnover failed to meet expected targets due to a rocky shift to mobile search – ads displayed on (and clicked through) on mobile phones are 20%-50% cheaper than their desktop counterparts. MEC will certainly be working hard to ensure all activity keeps in mind these overall trends.
