Smartphone adoption is greatest between the ages of 25 to 55. Why? The past/current prices of smartphones are significantly higher than feature phones and users between the ages of 25 to 55 have the available disposable income to purchase these pricy gadgets. However, in the near future, research predicts that prices for smartphones will start to decline and smartphone penetration will increase up to 50% with teenagers and adults ages 45 to 64 will see a comparable increase.
So, what does this all mean? There’s the obvious, content consumption will grow to match the capabilities of the smartphones that these new age groups acquire.
This also means the increased market penetration of smartphones will grow the amount of consumers looking for new ways to acquire engaging content on their smartphones. Which will more than likely be technologies such as 2dbarcodes, Near Field Communication (NFC) and other triggers that will be existing in the wild that connect users to the real and digital world.
Furthermore, since all 2dbarcodes, Near Field Communication (NFC) and other triggers that will be existing in the wild connect to mobile web application or native mobile applications how are you going to optimize these experiences for the upcoming demographics? The relationship between mobile phones and their users are extremely personal and the mobile optimized sites that currently exist might not relate to these new demographics of smartphone users. With this in mind I’ll leave you with an open question for discussion, what are your thoughts on how mobile optimization will adapt for this growth of smartphone users in teenagers and adults between 45 to 64 years old?