According to foreign media reports, market research firm comScore conducted a survey on the mobile user habits in Japan, the United States, and five European countries (the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy), and recently released the survey report. This is also the first time that comScore has issued such a report. The comScore report shows that over 75% of Japanese mobile users access the internet via their phones, surpassing American and European mobile users; 21.3% of American mobile users log into social networks through their phones, while 81.7% of European mobile users use short message services. Mark Donovan, Senior Vice President of Mobile at comScore, stated: "With advancements in technology and an increase in content options, mobile media usage rates are accelerating globally. There are differences in mobile media content consumption, brand recognition, and user habits in the U.S., Japanese, and European markets, and these differences are even more pronounced than those in PC internet usage. This is because the mobile field has intrinsic characteristics in terms of device functionality, operating systems, and content consumption methods. For companies hoping to expand across multiple markets, understanding the differences in mobile usage across regions is key to a successful international marketing strategy."
The cross-market survey conducted by comScore on Japanese, American, and European mobile users found significant differences in how users utilize mobile devices in different regions, with Japanese mobile users showing a preference for mobile internet access. The report states that in June this year, 75.2% of Japanese mobile users connected to the internet via their mobile devices, browsing web pages, using applications, or downloading content. The proportions for American and European mobile users were 43.7% and 38.5%, respectively.
Japanese mobile users' usage of applications and browsers also surpassed that of American and European users. In the report, comScore pointed out that in June this year, 59.3% of Japanese mobile users used mobile browsers, and 42.3% used mobile applications. The proportion of American mobile users using mobile browsers was 34.0%, and the European user proportion was 25.8%; the proportion of American mobile users using applications was 31.1%, and the European user proportion was 24.9%.
There are also significant differences in how Japanese, American, and European users communicate using mobile devices. According to the report, in June this year, 81.7% of European mobile users used short messages, the proportion for American mobile users was 66.8%, and the proportion for Japanese mobile users was only 40.1%. However, Japanese mobile users tend to use email for communication, with a high proportion of 54%, while the proportions for American and European mobile users using email were 27.9% and 18.8%, respectively. American mobile users have the highest proportion of using instant messaging services, at 17.2%, while Japanese and European mobile users were 3.3% and 12.6%, respectively.
American mobile users' usage rate of social networks/blogs exceeds that of Japanese and European users, with the proportion of American mobile users using this service being 21.3%, compared to 17.0% for Japanese and 14.7% for European mobile users. Japanese mobile users prefer taking photos (proportion of 63.0%) and watching TV/videos (proportion of 22.0%), while European mobile users prefer listening to music (proportion of 24.2%) and playing games (proportion of 24.1%).
comScore's report also shows that American users prefer accessing bank accounts via their phones (9.4%), Japanese users prefer getting financial news and stock information via their phones (16.1%); American mobile users prefer logging into online retail stores (7.2%), Japanese mobile users prefer using online travel services (4.7%); both American and Japanese users like using mobile map services, with proportions of 15.7% and 16.0%, respectively, while the proportion for European mobile users is 10.8%; American users like getting traffic information (12.6%) and weather information (34.1%) via their phones.
After conducting demographic analysis on American, Japanese, and European mobile users, comScore found that Japanese users of different age groups maintain a relatively balanced attitude towards mobile content consumption, while American mobile users aged 25 to 34 prefer using mobile media content, and European mobile users aged 18 to 24 prefer using mobile internet and consuming mobile media content.
In each of the American, Japanese, and European markets, local and international brands exhibit varying levels of popularity. The mobile social networking services in the three markets resemble the PC social networking services in the respective regions. American mobile users favor Facebook, followed by MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter; European mobile users similarly favor Facebook, with YouTube, MSN, and Twitter ranking second to fourth, respectively; Japanese mobile users prefer Mixi, with Gree and Mobage Town, domestic social networking services in Japan, ranking second and fourth, respectively, and Twitter ranking third. Twitter is the only social network service that ranks among the top four in the U.S., Japan, and Europe.