Women outpace men in smartphone usage

The report attempts to provide insights on consumer behaviours on smartphones and feature phones, individually. Some of the salient points revealed by the study included that fact that time spent by individuals on mobile devices has now surpassed time spent on TV. And women seem to be ahead of the curve, exhibiting greater engagement on smartphones than men. 

Giving us an overview of the results of this survey, D Shivakumar, Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association and Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo India Holdings said, “Insights on mobile usage in India are of critical importance to marketers. A thorough understanding of the differential usage and consumer segments that use smartphones and feature phones will help marketers use their monies more efficiently. Today, the mobile is undeniably the closest we can get to our consumers, and it is this that will help us understand – and leverage – a consumer’s path to purchase”. 

“Mobile is clearly the third largest mass medium in terms of Ad spends in India today, with estimated spends in 2016 amounting to Rs 4,200 cr. Hence it becomes very important for the industry to have credible research and measurement guidelines and reports, to help fully understand and leverage mobile’s ability to drive the future growth of business,” said Preeti Desai, Country Manager, Mobile Marketing Association India.

According to experts, mobile has had an outsized influence on the way consumers interact with each other, make decisions, transact and shop. This has significantly impacted the way companies and brands connect with their consumers and do business. “With the advent of 4G, reduced data costs and free voice and SMS, we expect rapid changes in the mobile landscape. It is, therefore, important to keep a continuous pulse on the way consumers interact with and use their mobile phones,” says Hemant Mehta, Senior Vice President, media and retail, Kantar IMRB.