Submitted by Mike Grenville on Thu, 06 Oct 2005 10:15

If they were targeted properly, women could become significant consumers of mobile content according to research undertaken on behalf of LogicaCMG and could be set to triple. But without a targeted approach, the research found that women are significantly more likely than men to be turned off accessing and downloading premium mobile content by this time next year.

Undertaken in May/June 2005 for LogicaCMG, the surveys were carried out on a representative sample population of 1000 adults in each territory across Europe (Germany, Italy and UK), Asia Pacific (Malaysia), South America (Brazil) and North America (USA).

The survey shows that the percentage of female mobile users expecting to download mobile content is set to triple from 18 per cent to 58 per cent over the next 10 months. However, it also revealed that women globally are 50 per cent less likely than men to be aware of the level and diversity of content and services available through their mobile phones, suggesting that operators could benefit from reaching this market more effectively.

It seems that women are 33 per cent per cent more likely than men to restrict purchases to downloading basic content such as ring tones and multimedia images. In contrast, men are 16 per cent more likely to download mobile games and more than twice as likely to subscribe to premium sports-related content, such as premiership football goals and cricket result bulletins.

Women Are Not Luddites

Commenting on LogicaCMG's survey findings, Lisa Modisette said: "The mobile content environment is heavily orientated towards the young male audience. Women today are very tech-savvy and typically a high-spending consumer segment that operators would benefit from targeting with relevant content offerings."

"It's not that women are luddites. It is a market segment that is not only large (!) but also women in all demographics have a lot more money to spend said" Jayne Chace, senior vice president marketing at LogicaCMG global telecoms.

"While early adopters are typically 18-30 males, (though one could dispute that), more and more women live alone one in five never marry or have a family. Things are changing and women tend to have more disposable income."

Different Approach To Payments

Women appear to prioritise control of spending, with facilities such as immediate deduction from prepaid accounts being 14 per cent more popular with women than their male counterparts. Basic content services such as ring tones and wallpaper downloads appeal to women for their one-off payments, whereas subscription services are typically a turn-off as women feel less in control of how much they are spending. Promotions available on mobile content also support this reluctance to commit to ongoing services, with about a quarter (24 per cent) of women preferring to receive money off calls and texts rather than discounts on future content downloads.

Chace, said: "Operators recognising the differences in habits, requirements and preferences between male and female mobile users can reap significant rewards. These survey results show that both are potentially rich market segments for mobile content but clever targeting and personalisation is increasingly the key to maximising these revenues. By creating awareness of the vast range of content available and focusing on providing payments and promotional offerings that appeal to a female audience, operators have an unmissable opportunity to open doors to a significant new marketplace."