Mobile Search Trends 2006: A healthy demand for a wide variety of information on-the-go
Comparing search to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, recent research notes that mobile users tend to use search to satisfy “personal-survival” needs such as finding a hotel (shelter) and locating a good restaurant (food). These needs are followed by “personal-security” needs such as accessing weather information or creating personalised information environments with the help of favourite songs, images and social networks.
Users are likely to put “personal-survival” needs first and local mobile search that can offer relevant results and even connect the consumer to the merchant with a phone call will become must-have survival services, the research concludes. Survival services have a top-notch spot among the most searched-for terms on the mobile Web. However, Mobile Search Trends 2006, a new study compiled by mobilePeople shows consumers have more than food and shelter in mind when they search for information using their mobile phones. What’s more, they are using mobile search more than ever before.
Data for 2006 gathered by mobilePeople, which through its customers reaches more than 220 million mobile users worldwide and processes millions of mobile searches per month, shows a whopping tenfold increase in the total searches performed over the previous year.
The most popular mobile search categories in order of popularity include:
1. Taxis
2. Takeaways
3. Restaurants
4. Supermarkets
5. Consumer electronics
The study also sheds some valuable light on users’ search habits. A surprise finding: 6 percent of six percent of all mobile searches were for jobs and recruitment consultants just before Christmas 2006. The top 20 search categories include: banks and financial institutions, hotels, garage services, car parts, hairdressers, medical services, shoe retailers, cinemas, furniture outlets, toy retailers, department stores, pubs and coffee shops. They account for 80 percent of total search volume for the period.
Consumers don’t just use local mobile search services to find businesses; they use them to locate specific brand names. Leading the pack in the run up the holidays were IKEA and TOYS R US. The searches predictably peaked on Christmas Eve with the last minute rush for gifts. They picked up again on December 27th, when consumers were looking for after-Christmas sales and shops to exchange their gifts.
According to Eden Zoller, Principal Analyst at Ovum’s consumer practice, the study speaks volumes about consumer acceptance of local search and how the service now plays a center role in users’ on-the-go lifestyles. “The combination of 3G networks and improved device capabilities means that mobile search is getting faster and easier. It is becoming something people want to try, and as the survey highlights, comes into its own when people are time constrained, on the move and need something quickly”.
The Mobile Search Trends 2006 study is the first of a series of reports set to be published by mobilePeople on mobile search use and habits. The findings draw from data gathered in European markets where mobilePeople is present during the period from December 23 to December 27, 2006).