Shopaholics get Smartphone savvy

Australians are changing the way they shop in record numbers with new Telstra research revealing fashion is now the top selling consumer good bought via smartphones.

More than one in two connected smartphone users browse the internet several times a day, on average three times every hour, with instances of online clothes purchases almost tripling since 2010.

Telstra Director Digital Media and Content Adam Good said the fourth annual Smartphone Index conducted by Nielson showed our shopping experience was changing.

“Smartphone popularity and online shopping is at a point where a lot of shoppers don’t feel the need to go in-store and try on clothes in front of the mirror,” Good said.

“In a short amount of time more shoppers have gone from not only checking what they’d like to buy but completing the purchase on their smartphone.”

Telstra’s Smartphone Index reveals:

• Australians are among the highest ranked connected countries in the world for smartphone use, behind China and South Korea, but ahead of the US and UK 
• Almost two in three (62%) mobile owners are connected smartphone users, up from 52% in 2012, 41% in 2011, and 32% in 2010
• Smartphone penetration has doubled since 2010, reaching 72% of total mobile phone users (up from 36% in 2010), and continues to grow
• 71% of connected smartphone users access the internet on their smartphones on a daily basis (up from 56% in 2012)

The research also found:

• Among connected smartphone users, men are accessing dating content much more than women (25% vs 13%)
• Young connected smartphone users aged 16 to 24 will spend the equivalent of a month on their smartphones each year (29 days)
• Women aged 16+ will spend an average of 21 days a year, while men will spend around 15 days a year. That’s not even taking into account the time spent on a tablet or a computer
• Tablet ownership/usage has risen sharply with almost one in two (49%) of smartphone owners also owning a tablet (up from 39% in 2012)
• Almost three in four connected smartphone users have accessed video, with amateur video sites such as YouTube by far the most popular content consumed

About the Research

The Telstra Smartphone Index was conducted online by Nielsen on behalf of Telstra on a representative sample of 2,004 mobile Australians aged over 16 from across Australia in both metropolitan and regional areas.