Is mobile internet the next dotcom?
- Josh Mehlman
- 6 October 2009
As the latest Sensis e-business report
- The
Online Experience of Small and Medium Enterprises June 2009 - reveals, 95% of SMEs are connected to the internet, and the majority (96%) have broadband.
Research firm Sweeney interviewed 1800 SME owners and 1500
consumers across Australia to discover their attitudes towards e-business - and their experiences.
The report indicates that Australian business that have already invested in e-commerce (67% of all SMEs) have made a smart move. Nearly a quarter (24%) have already seen a return on their e-commerce investment of more than 50%; 6% have seen a return of 21-50%; and 14% have seen a return of 11%-20%.
We've experienced several dotcom booms mostly focused on exploiting the internet for business when it is accessed on desktop and laptop computers - the question is: are we about to see a boom that exploits mobile internet?
Consider this: 85% of Australians have internet access at home but 91% have a mobile phone.
While mobile internet is a relatively new concept for most Australians, what might come as a surprise is that it's already a hot trend - with plenty of fast growth expected as smartphones and mobile data rates continue to drop in price.
Right now, more than a quarter of Australian consumers access the internet on their mobile phones and, of these, 41% use it to get info on products and services; more than a third (36%) are looking for suppliers of these products and services; and 12% are already using it to place orders.
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Australian consumers using mobiles in 2009
- 91% use a mobile phone
- 26% access the internet on their mobile phone
Of these consumers accessing the internet on their mobiles:
- 41% looked for information on products and services
- 36% looked for suppliers of products or services
- 27% downloaded video content
- 27% read a blog
- 25% downloaded games
- 19% made bookings
- 12% ordered goods or services
- 12% scanned a mobile or QR code
