Mobile

Ten years ago, the smartphone was in infancy, tablet computers as they are today did not exist, and most business was conducted in person or in ways that seem tedious today. The access to business information and applications through mobile devices has grown exponentially, and there is no sign that this will stop. Apple’s iPhone and iPad running iOS and smartphones running Google Android are dominating the mobile business market, due to their flexibility and ease-of-use.

Mobile is making inroads in digital ad spending throughout the world, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast of paid media ad spending worldwide. While mobile internet ad spending as a share of the total digital market is largest in North America, it’s growing in every region around the world.

As teens gain access to mobile devices, they have embraced app downloading. But many teen apps users have taken steps to uninstall or avoid apps over concern about their privacy.

eMarketer’s latest forecast for digital ad spending anticipates 14.9% growth for the year, just shy of 2012’s 15% growth rate, and set to continue falling through 2017, when spending will rise 7.1% to reach $61.35 billion.

In the US, 28 million people will use Twitter on their mobile phones at least monthly this year, eMarketer estimates. That’s up 22% over 2012 figures but still a far cry from earlier growth levels. Twitter mobile users will account for just 11.4% of mobile phone users and 8.8% of the overall population.

We already know that mobile shopping is growing, in step with the growing group of smartphone and tablet owners, but what kinds of activities are mobile shoppers pursuing? Considering the varying mobility between tablets and smartphones, it’s little surprise that mobile shopping activities often depend on which device is used as much as where it’s being used.

Baby boomers resist acknowledging they’re no longer young—at the same time, they show their age in below-average adoption of some digital technologies, according to a new eMarketer report, “Baby Boomers in the Marketplace: How the ‘Ever Young’ Generation Approaches Shopping, Health and Retirement.”

Epsilon and Email Institute released the Q1 2013 North America Email Trends and Benchmarks report. The report shows email open rates continue to increase quarter over quarter and year over year as consumers engage with email at any time and from any location via mobile devices.

Mobile has become so key to consumers’ lives that for the first time this year, time spent on nonvoice mobile activities will surpass time spent online on desktop and laptop computers, eMarketer estimates.

In celebration of creativity and in preparation for the 2013 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the IAB has created a unique, comprehensive view of today’s mobile creative best practices. This report contains the findings from research based on Dynamic Logic data from more than 100 mobile campaigns, and Millward Brown Firefly’s in-depth interviews with a variety of creative agency leaders about their thoughts on mobile creative best practice.

With technological advancements in connectivity and speed, there has been a shift to mobile devices as the primary access point of all things digital. Smartphone and tablets are revolutionizing the way people consume information, including content sent via email. With 88 percent of users checking their email via mobile devices daily, mobile email is a valuable platform for marketers to connect with consumers.

According to the new Mobile Consumer Habits study released by Jumio, Inc. and conducted online by Harris Interactive, smartphone usage is so prevalent in Americans’ everyday lives that nearly one in ten (9%) smartphone owners admit to having used their phone during sex, along with unexpected places, such as the shower (12%), in church or other place of worship (19%), and more.

US Hispanics have been on the leading edge of mobile adoption, and eMarketer estimates that 25.6 million Hispanics—46.9% of this demographic group—will be using smartphones by the end of 2013, representing the second-highest penetration rate among all US races/ethnicities. Only US Asians boast a higher smartphone penetration rate. And in terms of sheer numbers, Hispanic smartphone users outnumber Asian smartphone users by more than three to one, making Hispanics an extremely important mobile-enabled demographic.

According to a new eMarketer report, “Mobile Messaging Trends: Tapping into SMS, Mobile Email and Push Notifications,” marketers are treading carefully to only send mobile notices that are personally or contextually relevant. This is especially true of marketers leveraging channels that deliver content directly to the home screen and require users to opt in, namely SMS, MMS and push notifications.

Keith Turner, president of advertising sales and marketing at Univision Communications Inc., spoke with eMarketer’s Ellen Oppenheim for eMarketer’s Media Voices series about how the company is leveraging Hispanic consumers’ mobile and digital usage.