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What: Smartphone penetration in several Latin American countries is increasing substantially. 8 Facts that reflect why this is the case.
Why it matters: Users have become accustomed to use a wide range of mobile applications for different activities, including e-commerce, mobile banking. Mobile advertising will follow.
This article is based on 8 New Trends in Latin America’s Mobile Market for 2013 from Latin Link.
Portada’s Editorial Team compiled data and research that reflect a clear trend in the rise of mobile devices, particularly smartphones, for a myriad of activities in Latin America.
1. Number of Smartphones grows by 50% plus
Sales of smartphones in Latin America show steady growth. According to IDC, in the first quarter of 2013, there were 16.6 million smartphones in the market, reflecting a growth of 53% over the same period of 2012.
In the second half of last year another research firm, Gartner, noted that sales had increased by two percentage points to 55%, and that only the Asian-Pacific region showed an even bigger growth rate than Latin America.Which are the Latin American markets growing the most according to Gartner? (See the growth rates in the below table):
- Peru: 98%
- Brazil: 89%
- Mexico: 61%
- Argentina: 47%
- Chile: 34%
- Colombia: 30%
2. Tablet sales go through the roof
Tablets sales in Latin America, accounted for more than 3.5 million units in 2013, against 1 million in the first half of 2012. According to IDC, this is an increase of 234%.
3. Android leads the market
Research company StatsCounter, reported numbers for the mobile market in Latin America between April and June 2013. Each country has the below penetration rates.
|
País |
Android |
Nokia |
Symbian |
iOS |
Blackberry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Argentina |
63% |
9% |
8% |
7% |
– |
|
Bolivia |
54% |
– |
– |
13% |
– |
|
Brasil |
50% |
15% |
– |
15% |
– |
|
Chile |
63% |
– |
– |
25% |
– |
|
Colombia |
43% |
– |
– |
23% |
13% |
|
Ecuador |
40% |
14% |
– |
20% |
11% |
|
Paraguay |
40% |
29% |
13% |
– |
– |
|
Perú |
58% |
– |
– |
13% |
– |
|
Uruguay |
48% |
16% |
– |
12% |
– |
|
Venezuela |
44% |
– |
– |
19% |
18% |
While StatsCounter did not report about the dominant mobile operating systems in Mexico, Kantar Worldpanel published data related to this in June 2013.
According to Kantar Worldpanel, the Operating System penetration percentages for Mexico are:
- Android – 62%
- Blackberry – 11%
- iOS – 9%
- Nokia – 8%
- Windows – 7%
4. Users prefer mobile payments
An Ipsos OTX and Ipsos Global @dvisor study indicates that 48% of Mexican Internet users would prefer payments through smartphones or tablets instead of cash. While, 47% of Argentine Internet users and 38% of Brazilian Internet users would prefer to use their mobile devices to make payments.
5. Broadband adoption fuels the mobile’s Internet Growth
IBOPE reported that 52 million Brazilians use mobile internet, while in the first half of 2013, subscriptions to mobile broadband services increased by 42% in Chile, 39% in Mexico and 18% in Colombia.In March 2013, Brazil had 103 million active mobile broadband subscriptions, which represented a 38% increase compared to March 2012.A recent report from Ericsson, forecasts a massive increase in mobile internet subscriptions in Latin America by 2018. Ericssson sees the amount of mobile Internet users increasing to:
- Brazil: 350 million
- Mexico: 150 million
- Argentina: 70 million
- Colombia: 65 million
- Peru: 40 million
6. Mobile advertising in Latin America grew by 85% in 2013
E-Marketer projects a huge increase in mobile advertising. Not surprisingly, Brazil seems to have the greatest growth potential in this area: eMarketer predicts that mobile ad spending in Brazil will increase from US$ 60 million in 2013 to US $ 132 million in 2014 and US $ 731 million in 2017.
7. Mobile banking will grow by 65%
According to the Latin American Federation of Banks (Feleban), the number of Latin Americans who access their bank accounts through mobile media will increase by 65% each year over the next two for a total of 140 million in 2015.
8. Social networks have already been conquered by mobile devices
There is considerable evidence to sustain that targeting Latin American mobile users through social networks should produce remarkable results. For example, a recent study indicated that 77 % of Argentine mobile users access social networks through their devices. E.Life reported similar results for Brazil, indicating that 77 % of those who connect to the Internet through mobile devices also visit social network sites .
Nielsen published similar results for smartphones owners in Brazil: 75 % of smartphones users, use them mainly to go to social network sites. A Colombian smartphones owner’s survey conducted by Ipsos- indicated that 81 % of them use their phones to visit social media sites.In addition, Facebook recently reported that 74 % of the 47 million Mexicans Facebook users access the site through mobile devices, compared to the 57 % Brazilian users and 59 % of users of those devices in Argentina.
This article is based on 8 New Trends in Latin America’s Mobile Market for 2013 from Latin Link.
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