• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, July 7, 2008

A recent study by the AKQA's Research & Insights department in conjunction with dotMobi, finds that there is a strong consumer desire for practical mobile content on phones. Nearly 90 percent of consumer respondents stated that they would be more likely to choose an airline with mobile check-in facilities over one that did not offer them. And, rather than basic entertainment and ringtones, consumers stated that their most-wanted mobile activities included phone-optimized banking and travel planning.

In demanding access to mobile banking and mobile commerce abilities for basic utilities such as groceries, plane tickets and books, consumers said they trust the mobile Web to keep their personal information secure, as opposed to the PC-based Internet, where security remains of utmost importance.

Other results from the mobile Internet usage and attitudes study include:

• 90 percent of the 2,000 respondents in the online panel are interested in learning more about the mobile Web
• Fifty percent of respondents were unaware that there are mobile sites optimized for use on mobile phone
• 86 percent of participants said they were interested in knowing which sites are easily accessible on a mobile phone
• Nearly 50 percent of respondents said that a poor experience on their initial use of the mobile Web made them "reluctant to access" the site on their mobile phones again
• Poor site display and layout remain top reasons for mobile Web dissatisfaction among consumers
• Almost two-thirds of participants stated that they would consider purchasing theater tickets, take-out food and travel tickets via a mobile phone
• 63 percent of survey respondents said they would be more likely to give up their money than their mobile "smart phone" if they were mugged

Daniel Rosen, managing director of AKQA Mobile, concluded "The enormous popularity of mobile devices has had a profound effect on the lifestyle of the consumer... (but) consumers were (easily) turned off by earlier, ill-conceived mobile campaigns... with mobile devices more ubiquitous... there is a real opportunity for brands to deliver ground-breaking... campaigns... developed specifically for mobile applications."

The survey was conducted May 19-28, 2008 with a Research Now online panel of 2,019 consumers, half from the US and half from the UK. Participants were representative of online populations in both countries.

For more information about the study and dotMobi, please visit here.