MUMBAI: According to the Mobile Internet behavior and usage study conducted by ViziSense, 20 million of the estimated 48 million mobile internet users have cut their newspapers and TV consumption by 50 per cent.
ViziSense is an Indian online audience and ad measurement platform.
The study reveals that on the mobile screen what‘s being consumed is - entertainment, all categories of news, travel and sports content. Of all mobile internet users in India (estimated at 48 million by IAMAI in their August 2011 Mobile Internet in India report), 87 per cent are online on mobile every day. Almost half of these users go online through their cellphones every 2-3 hours and the duration of these visits is more than an hour. Almost 60 per cent of these users have been on this medium for over a year already.
This study has been put together through the results of an online survey conducted with ViziSense India online panelists (Internet users with mobile phones) and has recorded responses from 2,024 users who access Internet through their cellphones, the company said.
With access to email (99 per cent) and social media (95 per cent) being the primary drivers of mobile internet, consumption of content is starting to shift in favour of the two new screens - Mobiles and Tablets and the categories which see frequent or daily consumption include news, games and entertainment, travel, education and search (almost 50 per cent mobile internet users access this content through their cellphones v/s. other categories).
These users are also easing into mobile ecommerce with almost 80 per cent of the users having performed some form of financial transaction through their mobile phone - payment of utility bills, purchase of products, services and 28 per cent of mobile internet users have even used ‘mobile money‘.
The study reveals that the penetration of tablets and its rising demand is keeping the entire IT industry and media industry excited. The survey also revealed that 14 per cent of these users already possessed a tablet while another 60 per cent of the users plan to buy a tablet soon. (55 per cent of these aspirants hail from outside the top eight metros).
ViziSense VP and GM Amit Bhartiya said, "55 per cent of all daily mobile internet users hail from outside the top eight metros. Whilst limited access to branded products was the reason that these regions saw early adoption of ecommerce, errant electricity is one of the reasons why mobile internet is majorly scoring for users from these cities while reducing their dependence on TV as a medium for especially news and entertainment. The survey establishes two major trends- the shift in screens is for real and that English print is migrating to mobile phones through WAP sites and applications, especially around lifestyle, travel and sports content".
The survey also tracked the usage by the 18 per cent women subset within this group of mobile internet users and revealed that women outscore men when it comes to accessing books or education, entertainment and travel-related content through their cellphones.
