Australia ranks 7th for mobile engagement

Australia is ranked seventh in the world in terms of mobile engagement — the frequency and diversity of uses that its population finds for their smartphones — according to mobile industry body the GSM Association (GSMA).

A global consumer survey of adults in 56 countries, together representing 80% of the world’s population, found that Australia is among the world leaders when scored with the new Global Mobile Engagement Index (GMEI).

The GSMA calculated countries’ GMEI score by measuring the frequency of use — if any — of 29 mobile device use cases. Australia achieved a score of 4.5, just 0.5 points behind world leaders South Korea and Qatar.

The use cases involved in calculating the GMEI score include traditional communications (calls and text), video calls, IP messaging, email, mobile browsing, video streaming, digital commerce, e-government and financial services.

Globally, while mobile phone adoption is approaching ubiquity, the survey found that 47% of mobile owners still only use their devices to make voice calls and send SMS. But this segment is forecast to shrink to 29% by 2030 as engagement improves in emerging markets, triggered by advances in mobile innovation, affordability and availability.

“In an era of mobile being near ubiquitous around the world and at the centre of people’s lifestyles, there is a growing need to measure mobile user engagement levels to identify future industry growth opportunities,” GSMA Chief Strategy Officer Hyunmi Yang said.

“Consumer behaviours are continuing to change as mobile devices get smarter, services grow richer and societies become more connected. The Global Mobile Engagement Index is a unique industry tool to help understand these shifting trends.”

Image courtesy of Marjan Lazarevski under CC

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