Analytics firm comScore has just released a new study on mobile usage and behavior in the Japanese, American and European markets. The report’s findings highlighted the “significant differences” between the consumers in these markets, in terms of mobile connectivity, application usage, mobile social networking, media consumption, gender-related behavior and more.
Below is a summary of the firm’s report.
Japan Leads in Connectivity, Web Surfing, Application Use
Japan was the most connected of the markets studied, with 75% of its users either browsing the Web, accessing applications or downloading content. Only 43.7% of Americans and 38.5% of Europeans could say the same.
The Japanese mobile users also led the others when it came to mobile browser usage with 59.3% accessing their browsers in June, while just 34.0% of Americans and 25.8% of Americans did so. They also led in app usage with 42.3% accessing apps, compared with 31.1% of U.S. users and 24.9% of Europeans.
Europe Beats U.S., Japan in Text Messaging
As much as texting is discussed here in the U.S., some Americans may find it surprising that the country is not the leader in this area.
81.7% of Europeans sent a text message in June, compared to 66.8% of users in the U.S. and just 40.1% in Japan.
Social networking and blogs were more popular in the U.S. with 21.3% participating, followed by Japan at 17.0% and Europe at 14.7%.
Japanese users preferred snapping photos (63.0%) and watching TV or video (22.0%), while Europeans listened to music (24.2%) and played games (24.1%).
When it came to media consumption in the U.S., the 25-34 year-old demographic was 44% more likely to access mobile media than an average mobile user. Interestingly, the 18-24 year old demographic was only 39% more likely. (Maybe because the younger users don’t have smartphones?)
In Europe, 18-24 year olds were the most-connected segment, 54% more likely to be mobile media users, while those aged 25-34 were 35% more likely.
More Men Than Women Consume Mobile Media in U.S., Europe
In both the U.S. and Europe, there were some gender differences when it came to media consumption. In the U.S., females were 9% less likely to be mobile media users. In Europe, they were 16% less likely.
Top Brands
The top mobile social networking/chat/blog brands also varied between markets. Facebook was number one in the U.S. and Europe, for example, but in Japan, the top slot went to Mixi. Twitter, however, appeared on all three lists.
