UK and France first to share more on mobile platforms than on desktops, US lagging behind
The UK is the first to share more on mobile platforms than on desktops, research from RadiumOne has found, while the US is still doing most of its sharing from desktops.
The research from RadiumOne found that consumer sharing in the UK was dominated by mobile devices with average desktop sharing accounting for just under a third of all sharing (32 per cent) in August, having first reached over 50 per cent for mobile sharing in May.
The USA is behind with peak mobile sharing only edging past desktop (51 per cent) just one day a week, while desktops remain the preferred sharing platform during the working week; while in Canada mobile sharing peaks started to spike above desktops at the weekend in August at 55 per cent.
RadiumOne predicts that mobile will be the preferred sharing platform in North America by 2014.
Rupert Staines, MD UK and Europe at RadiumOne, commented: “Despite what feels like years of analysts and businesses telling us that the mobile reigns supreme as the social and internet platform of choice, our data shows that it’s only in the last few months that real-life consumer behaviour has caught up with these expectations in major western markets. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is still using desktops and laptops for the majority of their sharing.
“While these figures are interesting of themselves in showing changing consumer behaviours, the impact for brands and marketers is potentially massive. Mobile is now a well-established platform, but many brands are not using mobile to its full potential. Audiences are demonstrating their interests and purchasing intent on mobile. It’s vital for companies to invest in their mobile content and start tracking mobile sharing behaviours to discover actionable customer insights, including the products, content and topics that interest them most, in order to deliver more relevant, real-time targeted communications.”
Throughout Europe, mobile is increasing in popularity as a sharing platform but desktop still accounts for 65 per cent of all sharing.
It was found that in France, peak mobile sharing started to overtake the desktop at the weekends in July 2013 (peaking at 61 per cent of shares) before becoming the dominant sharing platform in August (53 per cent).