A profile of the mobile surfer of Belgium

Half of Belgian Internet users will by the end of 2011, be in the possession of a smartphone. The number of touchscreen tablet users is considerably lower: 6% of surfers already use one, and 30% wants to buy one in the near future. OPA Belgium (Online Publishers Association) has conducted a large study among 2.700 mobile surfers in Belgium. Based on the study a profile of the user of mobile devices has been composed.

The typical profile is:
- male <54 years
- mainly French
- in possession of a computer
- familiar with e-commerce

While the smartphone is used anywhere and at any time, tablets are mainly used at the end of the day. 83% of users use it between 20h and midnight, especially at home, in the livingroom (77%) and surprisingly little during travel (38%).

Half of the tablet users say they use their tablet more than one hour per day, compared to one quarter of the smartphone users, taking into account the greater convenience of tablets.

Mobile does not replace computer
The study also indicates that the average surfer continues to use a fixed or portable computer when he surfs to informative websites. Owners of a tablet, in contrary, mainly make use of their tablet to view info sites. Portals are again consulted on a rather traditional way, and the social networks show a greater affinity with smartphones.

The increasing use of mobile devices (tablets, and smartphones) has major implications for webshop owners. They will increasingly have to adapt their content to mobile devices.

Source: Digital Media