Commentary
iPhone Grows Rapidly as Internet & Entertainment Device
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 8, 2008
These growth rates are three times that of those earning more than $100,000 per year. Overall, iPhone penetration grew 21%
Jen Wu, senior analyst, comScore, notes that "... a $200 device plus at least $70 per month for phone service seems... extravagant for those with lower disposable income... (but) when the device is used in lieu of multiple digital devices and services, one actually realizes cost savings... "
Growth of iPhone Owners by Annual Household Income? (Three-month average ending June, July and August 2008) | |
Household Income | % Growth June to August 2008 |
Under $25,000 | 16%? |
$25,000 to $49,999 | 48%? |
$50,000 to $74,999 | 46%? |
$75,000 to $99,999 | 3%? |
$100,000 or more | 16%? |
Total | 21%? |
Source: comScore Mobile, October 2008 | |
While the number of consumers in the $25,000 to $50,000 income demographic declined marginally from June to August 2008, their ranks among smartphone owners and mobile content users grew, in most cases above the rate of the overall market.
According to comScore Mobile, the number of people earning between $25,000 and $50,000 accessing news and information via their mobile browser grew by 5% since June, while the market overall grew by 3% . comScore also reported 7% growth in mobile e-mail usage and 5% growth in mobile music consumption among those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 per year.
Installed Base & Consumption Trend Among Mobile Subscribers with Income of?$25,000-$50,000(Three-month consumption average ending June and August 2008) | ||||
| June ($x000) | August ($x000) | Growth | Overall Market Growth |
Smartphone | 2,870 | 3,314 | 15% | 12% |
iPhone | 266 | 394 | 48% | 21% |
Listened to mobile music | 4,682 | 4,901 | 5% | -0.3% |
Sideloaded music | 3,721 | 3,768 | 1% | -2% |
Used Email | 6,818 | 7,261 | 6% | 8% |
News/Info via Browser | 7,934 | 8,322 | 5% | 3% |
Source: comScore Mobile, October 2008 | ||||
Mark Donovan, senior analyst, comScore, said "These data indicate that lower-income mobile subscribers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to access the Internet, e-mail and their music collections... the iPhone is appealing to a new demographic... satisfying demand for a single device for communication and entertainment... "
Please visit here for more details on the demographics and usage patterns of iPhone users and related industry trends in the U.S.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.
This is just a guess, but I'm thinking the ComScore analysts aren't getting it right. I don't think the iPhone users with HHI $25-$50K did the economic analysis and determined the savings over using multiple digital devices (note, very small sample base anyway). Rather, the iPhone is status, another piece of bling to show off. More use for more information needs means more opportunity for others to see you with your iPhone. The whole purpose of bling. I might be wrong, but this isn't just a straight numbers analysis.