A new survey published by Xiam Technologies indicates that users are still having difficulty accessing certain types of mobile content, and as such, it’s remaining a barrier to the mobile Web for most consumers.
According to the survey, some 80 percent of users in the US and UK report some difficulty or problem when trying to access mobile content. Time spent searching/downloading was the primary reason cited, followed by device/interface issues. Judging by user’s responses, the means to access mobile content seems to remain the number one barrier.
Surprisingly, users report they are unsuccessful in accessing mobile content about 27 percent of the time. In addition, 63 percent of respondents said they would purchase more content if discovery was less of a challenge. It’s interesting to note that 68 percent of subscribers depend on mobile search engines to access content, with 58 percent directly entering URLs and 41 percent turning to their operator’s content portal.
This is what I don’t understand- user’s report that the means to access mobile content is what’s keeping them from consuming mobile content, instead of the lack of mobile content in the first place. Mobile search engines give you access to the same content available on a desktop, though the sites themselves might not be easily viewable on certain mobile devices.
When it comes to the types of mobile content user’s prefer, the survey indicates that weather is the most commonly accessed, with 67 percent of subscribers now embracing weather-related apps and services followed by maps (55 percent), social networking (52 percent) and games (also 52 percent).
In the end, the story remains the same- mobile content is readily available, even more so at times than desktops, but a majority of mobile devices make it hard to access that mobile content. Mobile marketers are often times misguided in their thinking that everyone walks around with smartphones in their pockets capable of doing just about anything, when in reality, it’s simply not the case.
