Smartphone spending surges
- — 17 May, 2010 09:26
The smartphone revolution is gathering pace, with GfK Temax reporting a 149 per cent increase in retail spending on the devices in a year.
Despite a 1.6 per cent decline in home appliance and tech-related spending, retail and technology group GfK has put the smartphone market as the prominent force in Australian spending, while sales of traditional mobile phones continue to drop. There has been a 45 per cent drop in traditional mobile phone sales.
"Based on the current quarter alone, there's obviously a huge amount of markets moving forward," said GfK Account Director Neil Frackiewicz. "The numbers speak for themselves."
Tim Barnes, head of marketing for Sony Ericsson Oceania, says he expects smartphones to maintain their grip due to the rise of applications and social networking sites. "It is likely that the current growth in the smartphone will continue into the foreseeable future, although it's likely that access to mainstream applications will be a requirement on even basic mobile — just as SMS is today," he said.
"As consumers, we spend more and more time online and we want access to instant information and services no matter where we are. We expect and demand that our mobiles to do more for us than they have ever had to before."
Tyler McGee, Vice President of Telecommunications at Samsung agrees saying the figures are "testament to the popularity of smartphones" and that the demand reflects the "always connected" approach.
"These latest statistics stating that smartphone sales are up 149 per cent globally are testament to the popularity of smartphones and people's growing desire to embrace the latest in technology and innovation today," said McGee. "The technology industry is moving towards an 'always connected' approach to life. From notebooks, to IPTV, through to phones, people are increasingly demanding the option to connect with the world around them at a moment’s notice. In addition, the rapid uptake of social media is driving a focus on continuous conversations."
