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24 May 2011
Singapore
- Growing mobile internet usage presents new opportunities for advertisers
- Apple OS most widely used by online consumers, followed by Nokia
Even as Singapore has the highest smartphone penetration in South East Asia, sales of smartphones will continue to benefit from significant buying interest from netizens in the country. Based on a recent survey by The Nielsen Company’s (NYSE:NLSN), 4 in 10 online consumers1 who claim they do not own a smartphone said they will or are likely to buy one in 2011.
Almost half of the online consumers surveyed in Singapore claimed they already own a smartphone. Netizens aged between 35-39 years old are the largest group who claimed to own a smartphone (59% out of the total in the age group), followed by those aged between 25-29 and 30-34 years old (both groups 51%). The percentage of netizens who said they own a smartphone grew 8 percent to its current level over 2010.
“Launches of newer mobile devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7 OS, the influx of android phones, as well as the different affordable data plan packages offered by telecommunication operators to increase or maintain their subscription base, present consumers with a kaleidoscope of choices. Operators are also wooing existing customers by offering upgrades on a mobile device just before his/her subscription plan expires,” said Kaushal Upadhyay, Director, Telecom Practice, Nielsen Singapore.
 Who’s more likely to buy a smartphone?
The smartphone penetration in Singapore looks set to increase further, with 39 percent of online consumers indicating they intend to purchase a smartphone within the next 12 months. Male and female netizens are equally likely to purchase a smartphone. The tendency to purchase a smartphone is highest among consumers aged between 45-49 years old and those under 20 years old – 58 percent and 49 percent respectively indicated they will definitely or will probably buy a smartphone.
Apple OS is preferred choice of netizens in Singapore
With the rising popularity of smartphones, usage of mobile apps will grow in tandem. 1 in 3 online consumers in Singapore said they have downloaded an app in the past 30 days. The potential to grow is also strong: 55 percent of online consumers said they know about mobile applications and are interested to download these to their smartphones.
Online consumers who use apps chose to do so via Apple OS (68%), Nokia (31%), Android (24%), Blackberry (18%), Microsoft (14%) and others (8%). While Apple OS is most commonly used in Singapore, Nokia is the preferred choice of netizens in countries like Indonesia and Philippines.
 Mobile internet usage to grow too
While SMS (or short messaging services) is still the most popular activity on a mobile phone (95% of online respondents claimed to have used SMS in the past 30 days), mobile handset manufacturers and operators should be ready for the next, if not current, demand from Singapore consumers: mobile internet. Based on Nielsen’s research, 51 percent of online consumers have used mobile internet in the past 30 days, with more than a third accessing the internet at least once a day. This number is set to increase in 2011 as 59 percent of consumers plan to access mobile internet in next 12 months.
“The growing usage of mobile internet is related to the rising popularity of smartphones and/or multimedia feature phones that provide user-friendly features for consumers to access the internet. This will inadvertently present many opportunities for advertisers to reach out to current or potential customers via this channel, as consumers become more sophisticated users of the mobile internet. However, for mobile internet to really take off, consumers will be looking out for more flexible and affordable data plans,” said Upadhyay.
About Nielsen Global Online Omnibus Survey
The Nielsen Global Online Omnibus Survey was polled over 26, 000 consumers in 53 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America. The survey is conducted to look at how consumers will behave towards economic outlook, online shopping habits, consumers’ purchase intention, etc.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related assets. The company has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information on The Nielsen Company, visit www.nielsen.com.
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