Over the course of a lifetime, the average ten year old will consume nearly $30 000 worth of mobile services; by the time that ten year old reaches the age of thirty-five they will have used up more than half of their lifetime mobile spending. The mobile industry may not have realized it yet, but this 25 year window is effectively the window of mobile opportunity.
The 2006 mobileYouth report from Wireless World Forum highlights the importance of the youth market in shaping both the content and character of tomorrow’s mobile technology markets. Given that virtually 99% of ten to twenty-four year olds in the UK and Western Europe own a mobile phone, this is a market that cannot be overlooked.
mobileYouth research shows that children can establish brand allegiance by the age of two, so mobile operators and handset manufacturers must start early if they are to maintain a loyal customer base amongst today’s youth.
Music has long been the traditional domain of youth spending. With the rise of a mobileYouth culture, however, this situation has been transformed. In 2004, youth expenditures on mobile services were eight times as high as those on music. With youth spending on mobile services surpassing $100 billion in 2006, the sales of products tailored for young consumers (fashion, entertainment and music) will once again face stiff competition.
mobileYouth’
• Mobile companies must make the change from focusing on early adopters and high income consumers to measuring engagement with high lifetime value segments such as low spending youth.
• Non-mobile companies (e.g. fashion, entertainment and music) must either accommodate the growth of mobile into their existing product development and marketing or be exposed to the cannibalization of core revenues from the $10 billion annual growth in mobile spending.
• Companies successful in capturing the $30,000 lifetime spend will not be focusing on “cool” functionality and technology but on enhancing the social utility value of the mobile phone for youth.
About mobileYouth
The mobileYouth report is Wireless World Forum’s annual study of young consumers aged 5-24 in 55 markets and how they use mobile services. mobileYouth is firstly a study of Youth and secondly a study of how mobile fits into their daily universe.
www.w2forum.com | www.mobileyouth.org
