![\"digomnivore\"](\"http:\/\/www.voped.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/digomnivore.jpg\")
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It is gratifying when you see research data that validates your gut instinct about market trends.\u00a0 Everyone knows the smartphone marketplace is exploding, but now we have data to see where the trend is headed, and the limitless possibilities it represents for marketers across sectors.<\/p>\n
comScore<\/a>, the organization which specializes in \u201cmeasuring the digital world \u00a0and the preferred source of digital marketing intelligence,\u201d has just issued its annual report on the \u201cmobile and connected device landscape\u201d titled the 2012 Mobile Future in Focus<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n There are a lot of great factoids in the report, but among the most eye-popping are the ones related to apps (as many people use apps on their smartphones as use a web browser) and social media (half use their smartphones for social media and half also use theirs for information on brands and organizations).<\/p>\n What marketers and retails should pay the most attention to though is how smartphones are revolutionizing the retail experience (half of all users conduct retail research on their smartphone while they are in stores).\u00a0 Consumers have the power in the palms of their hands to make informed shopping decisions like never before \u2013 and we have only begun to scratch the surface on the kinds of apps and data that can be made accessible to consumers through their smartphones (see: There\u2019s a Job for That<\/a>).<\/p>\n The future is very bright for app developers, retailers, and others who can exploit these extraordinary trends.\u00a0 Likewise, watch-out for how these same savvy innovators will leverage online video to their advantage far more in the future as well \u2013 something no doubt we will see in a future comScore report on these amazing trends (see: Take 3 Steps Closer to Online Video<\/a>).<\/p>\n The key findings in the report include the following:<\/p>\n There is now a shift to an increasingly multi-device lifestyle for many consumers or \u201cdigital omnivores\u201d who engage seamlessly with multiple online touchpoints throughout a day<\/p>\nMobile and Tablet Usage<\/h2>\n
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Nearly 42 percent of all U.S. mobile subscribers now use smartphones (50% Android, 30% iOS)<\/div>\n<\/li>\nMobile media usage surpassed 50 percent penetration in many markets<\/div>\n<\/li>\nTablets took less than 2 years to reach 40 million tablets in use among the U.S. mobile population<\/div>\n<\/li>\nSmartphones took 7 years to reach similar levels of adoption<\/div>\n<\/li>\n15% of users also had tablets in 2011<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nMobile Apps<\/h2>\n
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The usage of apps reached parity with the mobile browser audience by the end of 2011<\/div>\n<\/li>\nApps by category in order of popularity are: health, retail, other commerce such as electronic payments and auction sites)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nMulti-Platforms<\/h2>\n
Retail Research<\/h2>\n
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50% used their phone to perform retail research while inside a store<\/div>\n<\/li>\n1 in 5 users scanned product barcodes<\/div>\n<\/li>\n1 in 8 users compared prices on their phone while in a store<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nSocial Media<\/h2>\n
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64.2 million users accessed social networking sites or blogs at least once in December 2011<\/div>\n<\/li>\n50% of users accessed social media almost every day<\/div>\n<\/li>\n