Is the "Smartphone-Centric" Era Upon Us!?

This is Asai from Dentsu Inc. Smart Platform.
At Dentsu Inc. Smart Platform, we develop insights not only on consumer behavior related to smartphone games but also on smart devices like smartphones and tablets. This time, I'd like to introduce new trends, focusing primarily on smartphones.

1.The 'Smart Trio' Dentsu Inc. Smart Plus is Watching

At Dentsu Inc. Smart Plus, we collectively refer to smartphones, tablets, and PCs as the "Smart Trio."
With the rapid proliferation of smartphones and tablets in recent years, many people now use the Smart Trio to gather information or enjoy online shopping anytime, anywhere. For example, searching for a product featured in a train ad that caught your eye while still on the train. Then, before you know it, you end up clicking to buy that product while still on the train. Many of you have probably used your smartphone for online shopping during short breaks while commuting or out and about.

At Dentsu Inc. Smart Plaza, we conduct research and analysis on the influence the Smart Trio has on consumers' purchasing behavior and the characteristics of each device, advancing our insights. Through this process, we've observed that among the Smart Trio, smartphones in particular exert a significant influence on people's consumption behavior.

This time, we focus specifically on the smartphone among the Smart Trio.

2.Smartphones are both media and channels

Dentsu Inc. Smart3 conducted research on the characteristics of each of the Smart3 devices.
In our research, we focused on young women. This is because we believe trends surrounding young women and mobile phones are closely intertwined. For example, mobile novels became popular primarily among young women, and more recently, online flea market apps targeting young women have surged in popularity. Dentsu Inc. Smart Plus analyzed this survey data, predicting that young women's relationship with smartphones will shape future trends.

Our findings revealed that smartphones are perceived, particularly among young women, as "devices for discovering new content" among the Smart Trio (Figure 1). In other words, smartphones appear to serve as "trigger media" that enable encounters with previously unknown things and information.

Figure 1

 

Next, it was found that compared to tablets and PCs, smartphones are "devices where users don't carefully evaluate products" (Figure 2). Furthermore, it became clear that for trend-sensitive young women in their teens and twenties, smartphones are "devices that lead to impulse purchases" (Figure 3).

 I often shop online too. When shopping on my computer, I carefully research product information and look for the cheapest site. But with my smartphone, I've often ended up buying things on impulse without much comparison (I'll keep it a secret that I later found cheaper options or regretted purchases because the size didn't fit...).

I think the reasons for this are twofold: the time factor, since you can shop during small pockets of free time like when you're out or commuting, and the psychological factor that tapping a smartphone screen feels more casual than hitting the Enter key on a computer.

Perhaps because we lose our cool and end up making impulse buys, it turns out that when looking at monthly spending on digital content like e-books and apps, purchases made via smartphone actually exceed those made via computer (Figure 4).

Figure 4

 

This shows smartphones function quite effectively as a "purchasing channel" in today's world. As a purchasing channel, smartphones might even be more convenient than the numerous convenience stores in your neighborhood. After all, you can make purchases anytime, anywhere, without having to physically go anywhere yourself.

As both a medium and a channel, smartphones profoundly influence our purchasing behavior.
In fact, looking at internet shopping usage rates by device, a shift from PCs to smartphones is occurring (Figure 5). This shift toward smartphones for internet shopping will likely continue across all generations.

Figure 5

 

3.Smartphones will become the gateway for all actions

I'm certainly one of them, but many of us live lives where we use our smartphones constantly, anytime and anywhere. When you're tired from work, waiting for lunch, or when you run out of things to talk about with friends, don't you find yourself reaching for your smartphone? Smartphones have become indispensable infrastructure in our daily lives.

In our lives, smartphones serve as both a media for gathering information and a purchasing channel. It's no exaggeration to say that smartphones have become the starting point, the "entry point," for virtually all our actions.
At Dentsu Inc. Smart Plus, we refer to this phenomenon—where smartphones serve as the "entry point" for all actions—as "Smartphone-Centric," and we are watching it closely as a trend likely to spread throughout society.
With the further proliferation of smartphones, the "smartphone-centric" lifestyle will become increasingly commonplace.

Smartphones, which drive intuitive and impulsive information-gathering and purchasing behaviors, may make consumers' spending habits more impulsive. We're likely to see a shift from the traditional pattern of noticing a product, developing interest, researching it, and then purchasing—toward a more ephemeral, desire-driven behavior: noticing a product, wanting it immediately, and buying it right away.

Dentsu Inc. Smart Plaza plans to further develop insights into consumers' purchasing behavior driven by smart devices.
For you, the reader of this column, the day of a "smartphone-centric" lifestyle will surely arrive.

<About the Survey>
"Dentsu Inc. Smart3 Brothers Survey"
Survey Method: PC Internet Survey
Survey Period: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - Monday, June 2, 2014
Respondents: Men and women aged 15 to 59 nationwide
Screening Survey: 10,000 samples
Main Survey: 1,500 samples
*The main survey obtained responses from the following two segments:
1) Users of smartphones, tablets, and personal computers
500 samples
2) Smartphone and PC users (not tablet users)
1,000 samples