Food, water and clean air: All are essentials in our daily lives. But mobile devices? They may not be critical to survival, but a majority of consumers around the world (56%) can’t imagine life without them, and 53% say they feel anxious when their devices aren’t close at hand.
Indeed, for many consumers, mobile devices are a constant companion with powerful benefits. Among global respondents, 74% say they appreciate the freedom of being connected anywhere, anytime, and 70% strongly or somewhat agree that their mobile device has made their life better. This constant connectivity has changed the nature of connections. Fully two-thirds of global respondents (66%) strongly or somewhat agree that electronic interactions are replacing face-to-face ones, and almost half (47%) say they’d rather text than talk. In fact, interactions are turning into transactions.
Using Mobile as a Shopping Sidekick
For many consumers, mobile devices have become indispensable shopping buddies. More than half of global respondents say they use their mobile device when shopping to compare prices (53%) or look up product information (52%). More than four in 10 respondents use their device to look for coupons or deals (44%), make better shopping decisions (42%) or make shopping trips quicker or more efficient (41%).
Other findings include:
Mobile-banking activities, such as accessing account information (47%) and paying bills (42%), are more common than transferring money between bank accounts (36%). Usage rates are highest in Asia-Pacific.
Millennials are more than twice as likely as Baby Boomers and Silent Generation respondents to say they’re likely to use a mobile-only bank.
Mobile-only banking is most popular in developing countries with large unbanked populations; usage rates are highest in India (46%), Indonesia (37%), Mexico (34%) and Turkey (34%).
Security concerns top the list of mobile-banking barriers (53% of global respondents), followed by a preference for physical locations (31%) and not needing the service (28%).
Facial recognition software (41%) and check scanning/deposit technology (39%) are the most commonly cited features that mobile device owners want to see in future banking apps.
More than one-third of global respondents say they’re highly likely to transfer money to (36%) and/or receive money from (34%) another person using their mobile device in the next six months.