Mobile marketing has become the focal point of many digital marketing campaigns. Moreover, we can say that it’s taking over digital marketing. Why? Well, let’s take a look at some numbers…
Statista Inc., one of the leading statistics company on the internet, has published their forecast regarding the rise of a number of mobile phones worldwide until 2018. Statistics collected and presented show the total number of unique mobile phone users will reach 5.5 billion in 2018. This number is huge, but… Already in January 2015 GSMA Intelligence and Ericsson have both reported more than 7 billion active mobile subscription, which is almost as equal as the total human population!
Moreover, predictions say that mobile broadband networks and smartphone adoption rates will almost double until 2020. But, we don’t need to wait for 2020 to conclude the impact mobile world already has on economic and overall development around the globe. Data also confirm that global smartphone adoption will reach 63% by the end of the decade.
The main reason behind these numbers is – affordability. Yes, smartphone average selling prices are now 30% lower than in 2008 and the offer if better than ever. This is the reason why mobile phone sales (read smartphones) have skyrocketed in the past decade.
By 2020, mobile technology is predicted to generate a total economic value of nearly US$4 trillion, increasing the sector’s global GDP contribution to 4.2%.
And now, let’s take a look at some “fun” facts on the rise of mobile usage:
- Consumers are checking their mobile devices 150 times a day
- 79% of smartphone owners use their mobile devices to buy products and services
- 173 million users have accessed the Internet through their mobiles in 2014 – 33% more than the year before
- It is expected that 457 million people will access the Internet through mobiles until 2019 – the growth of 21% year-on-year
- By 2018, half of the world’s mobile phone users will have a smartphone
- 46% of smartphone owners use mobile exclusively as their primary search tool
- The first thing we see when we wake up and the last thing we put down before sleep is – our mobile phone!
This is the reason why many are stressing the importance of m-commerce (mobile commerce) and are predicting mobile commerce is likely to overtake e-commerce in the next few years. Mobile commerce is now forecast to account for 21% of total digital commerce by 2018, up from 12% in 2014.
All said above leads to a logical conclusion – mobile marketing is no longer a choice but a must-have. And, since SMS or text messaging marketing campaigns have proved to be highly effective, SMS marketing, as a huge part of mobile marketing, should be treated with the same respect.
