According to InsightExpress, there are three mobile user segments:

  • The Mobile Pioneer (15 percent of the market) is ahead of his peers in terms of mobile behavior, and uses advanced features weekly such as Internet, unique applications, and/or video. The majority of Mobile Pioneers are under 35 years old, one third of them have a smartphone*, and they skew male, single and minority.
  • The Mobile Wannabe (25 percent of the market) has tried some advanced features and would like to use them more. Less than half are under 35, and only 5 percent own a smartphone.
  • The Mobile Traditionalists (60 percent of the market) are content to use their mobiles for phone calls and texting, and two thirds of them are over 35 years old.

Mobile Pioneers, Wannabes and Traditionalists… interesting.

Other tidbits from the report:

Almost two thirds (62 percent) had sent a text message to someone in the same room, compared to 39 percent of Wannabes and 26 percent of Traditionalists. 57 percent of Pioneers had taken a picture of a product using their phone and sent it to someone to get an opinion, compared to 30 percent of Wannabes and 16 percent of Traditionalists.

While the Pioneers set the trends, the Wannabes popularize them, making these individuals particularly interesting to marketers. This group is likely a barometer of future usage trends that will be adopted on a wider scale. For example, while 79 percent of Pioneers had taught someone else how to use their mobile phone features, Wannabes were not far behind with 65 percent having done so.

What’s your segment? If you read this blog, very likely you are in the Pioneer segment.

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