Based on research conducted by On Device Research among 8,350 respondents in nine countries across five continents, the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) revealed that mobile is increasingly the primary platform for internet access.

According to its Global Consumer Survey (GCS) report, 72% access the mobile internet globally on a daily basis with 18% no longer using fixed line internet access whatsoever.

In each individual market, the number of consumers accessing the mobile internet daily is higher than the number accessing fixed-line internet - 74% in Singapore, 71% in Indonesia and 67% in India are accessing the mobile internet daily.

Mobile Banking is Widespread

The report also illustrates how consumers are engaging in banking, payments and commerce via mobile - 44% in India and 48% in Singapore have engaged in some form of banking or financial activity on their mobile, including balance checking and transfer of funds. This rises to 73% of respondents in Indonesia, with 63% having sent airtime to someone else - the highest share by country.

Mobile Commerce: Considerable Scope for Growth

Meanwhile it is reported that 85% in India, 80% in Indonesia and 84% in Singapore are using their mobile phone to research or purchase a digital or physical product. Findings across all regions concur that the vast majority of respondents are actively using their mobile for the purchase of goods and items.

Colin Miles, MEF Asia Chairman, sees a seismic shift in mobile content and commerce consumption taking place and Asian markets spearheading this progress.

MEF’s GCS report clearly 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.

Fears, however, around security are cited as well and seen as the greatest barrier to wider adoption of mobile commerce, as MEF Global Board Chairman, Andrew Bud commented: “This global research illustrates many positive findings regarding consumer engagement across a wide 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, the need to build trust further in order to satisfy growing consumer demand is a clear industry call to action. There is work to be done, and MEF’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 is available to download here.

By MediaBUZZ