The next big thing is Mobile and there are no two ways to it. Emerging countries will drive the new wave and India which is already the third largest smartphone market in Q2 2013 after China and the US, has as much as 50% or more mobile-only internet users, according to a new report from Mumbai-based financial advisory firm Avendus Capital.
The report which was initially published at TNN, highlighted that the Indian mobile advertising market is estimated to reach Rs 2,800 crore by 2016 from a mere Rs 180 crore that it is worth today. The other facts that are worth noting are:
1. With 50% or more mobile-only internet users India could possibly be the highest worldwide compared to 20-25 % across developed countries.
2. The gaming and apps market which is still small is also drawing its share of growth from the frenetic use of smartphones. The market is expected to become Rs 2,000 crore worth by 2016.
3. With smartphone adoption the paid app market from the iOS app store and Google Play in India crossed Rs 150 crore in 2012.
4. Advertising, paid content and commerce. All three models are beginning to witness meaningful traction on mobile.
5. Movie and event ticketing sites Bookmyshow and online travel aggregator Cleartrip have seen revenue through mobile devices grow to more than 25% and 12%, respectively, of their total revenue within a short span of time.
6. Ecommerce site Myntra has seen revenues through mobile devices scale rapidly and expects it to grow to more than 20% of their total revenues by the end of 2013.
Early last month India Mobile Landscape 2013 report was released by research firm, Juxt which had stated India has 554.8 million mobile users and 143.2 million unique Internet users. The report further informed that around 94.7 million users access internet from their desktop/laptop, smart TV or mobile data connections such as GPRS/EDGE and 3G together. However, the research was profiled on 121,311 individuals in 30,066 households across India.
Mobile is growing and one of the reasons being the youngsters spending more time on it. So marketers will have to create content that is very relevant and engaging for consumers to be able to monetize this medium.
Sharing more on the same Aashish Bhinde, executive director at Avendus Capital added that, “Until recently, the only revenues generated through mobile in the digital space came from ‘on-deck’ services offered by telcos through their portals, popularly known as mobile value added services (MVAS). Globally, the trend has shifted towards growth of ‘offdeck’ services that are offered by content developers directly to consumers without going through telecom operators. This has been largely driven by the advent of smartphones and third party app stores like iOS and Google Play.”
Read more: Indian Mobile Internet Users To Touch 164.8M By 2015