MEF enables community networking and provides information on the mobile industry just like TOC does for the publishing industry. They also produce reports summarizing the state of the mobile commerce marketplace. Their latest report is called Global Consumer Survey 2012 and you’ll find the executive summary of it here.
I haven’t received my copy of the full report yet but here are a few tidbits in the executive summary that jumped out at me:
- Mobile purchases aren’t just about entertainment anymore. It’s not simply a bunch of people buying the latest games. Convenience is the main reason that “the phone is now seen as a channel for purchasing everyday items.” (Btw, that point resonates with this other study on the race to zero pricing.)
- Not surprisingly, the bigger brands are starting to dominate. The real question here isn’t why that’s happening but rather if you’ve got a big offline brand, how are you leveraging it in the mobile world?
- Mobile carriers haven’t figured out how to tap into the revenue stream. Credit cards and PayPal are still the preferred method of payment despite the fact that your mobile carrier is literally right there in the palm of your hand. Are AT&T and the others simply too busy finding ways to charge us more and more for minutes and texts to not really care about the rest of the mobile commerce opportunities?
MEF members can download the full report for free. If you’re not a MEF member and you’re interested in reading more you’ll be glad to know TOC has negotiated a deal with MEF to get you a 30% discount on the full report. Just go here and use the discount code MEF002.
If you want to learn more about the results of this survey be sure to join us at this TOC session presented by MEF’s Marjorie DeHey: Worldwide Mobile Content And Commerce Usage And Trends – What You Need To Know To Thrive In A Global Economy. Use the discount code below to save 15% on your TOC registration.
TOC NY 2013— The publishing industry will gather at the Tools of Change for Publishing Conference in New York City, February 12-14, to explore the forces and solutions that are transforming publishing.Save 15% on registration with the code COMM15