Mobile internet access grows despite security concerns

The report covers research from Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, the UK and the US. In each individual market, the number of consumers accessing the mobile internet daily is higher than the number accessing fixed-line internet, as shown by the percentages in South Africa at 56%.

The report also illustrates how consumers are engaging in banking, payments and commerce via mobile - 57% in South Africa have engaged in some form of banking or financial activity on their mobile, including balance check and transfer of funds, while 21% have paid a bill via their mobile device.

Consumer confidence

Findings across all regions concur that many of the respondents are actively using their mobile for the purchase of goods and items - in South Africa, 89% are using mobile phones to research or purchase a digital or physical product.

"This research demonstrates how mobile has increasingly become the platform of choice for internet access and reinforces how consumers are using mobile connected devices for a wide range of content and commerce activities including research, payments and financial activities," commented Rimma Perelmuter, MEF executive director.

"Evolving mobile habits"

"The report provides valuable insights to both mobile specialists and new entrants to the wider ecosystem looking to gain a deeper understanding of the evolving mobile habits of consumers across developed and developing markets."

Christian de Faria, MEF EMEA board member and group chief commercial officer of MTN, adds, "Today's consumer has the same needs that consumers have always had but are driven by the need for convenience. They want access to financial services, health and fun content such as music and games. The survey demonstrates that what has changed is the consumer's expectation and propensity to access content and commerce services quickly, easily and at any time. With a plethora of competitively priced smartphones coming onto the market, the increasing availability of mobile internet and a host of relevant solutions such as Mobile Money and mobile remittances services, mobile content and commerce will continue to grow exponentially."

Barrier to adoption

However, the GCS report also cites security as the biggest barrier to m-commerce adoption. MEF global board chairman, Andrew Bud commented, "This global research illustrates many positive findings regarding consumer engagement across a diverse range of mobile content and commerce activities in developed and developing markets. However, with 27% of consumers stating they would use mobile to make purchases more often if security was addressed, this lack of trust inhibits mobile's full potential to meet growing consumer demand and is a clear industry call to action. There is still much work to be done, and the group's global m-commerce initiative is already addressing the issue of security as a core focus. We invite all forward-looking companies to take part."

The full report can be purchased from the MEF website.