Many Internet companies, especially some of the much-hyped Web 2.0 startups, are busy building tools and applications for which no mainstream consumer demand actually exists. In my view that’s what killed many of early Internet companies after the first bubble burst – there was no existing use case to sustain them.
But the opposite is true of nascent “mobile local search,” a set of half-baked tools and embryonic applications that seek to deliver local content to wireless users. People are eager for local information on the go; and when wireless data services become fast, easy to use and more affordable, you’ll see adoption ramp quickly. Remarkably, the user demand for local content on mobile devices is much more developed than the carriers’ and wireless content providers’ current mobile offerings.
It’s in this larger context that I write about a new study released this week from Tellme, an automated voice services provider and directory assistance (411) wholesaler. The company engaged Harris Interactive and surveyed 1,425 adult Americans about directory assistance usage. The study was conducted between March 31 and June 7 of this year.
At the highest level, the survey revealed that the majority (55%) of people calling 411 these days are doing so from wireless phones. (That makes sense because the Internet/local search is often a 411 substitute.) The study also revealed demographic differences in behavior and attitudes toward directory assistance. The findings showed, in addition, that mobile 411 callers are most interested in entertainment (restaurants, bars, movies), shopping and travel-related information. And reading a little deeper you also get a fascinating sense of the immediacy and intensity of user interest in local content in the mobile context.
Read the rest of this post at SEW.
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From the Tellme/Harris survey:
Q. Which of the following business listings have your requested in the past year?
|
|
All Adults |
Millennials |
Gen Xers |
Boomers |
Women |
Men |
| Restaurants & Bars |
43% |
50% |
46% |
39% |
43% |
43% |
| Retail Stores |
36% |
33% |
42% |
34% |
42% |
30%
|
| Hotels/Lodging |
24% |
11% |
19% |
31% |
20% |
28%
|
| MoviesTheaters, Amusement & Recreation |
20% |
25% |
21% |
18% |
19% |
22% |
| Transportation: Taxis & Airlines |
10% |
5% |
11% |
12% |
10% |
13% |
Base: Use Directory Assistance
When you’ve needed a phone number or address while in the car or “on the go” which of the following have you done instead of calling 411??
| All Adults |
Millennials |
Gen X |
Boomers |
Women |
Men |
|
| Called a family member | 58% | 63% | 65% | 52% | 64% | 53% |
| Called a friend | 46% | 56% | 52% | 37% | 49% | 43%
|
| Stopped at a phone booth | 29% | 19% | 34% | 35% | 26% | 31% |
| Called a colleague | 27% | 20% | 32% | 27% | 23% | 30% |
| Torn page from phone book | 7% | 7% | 9% | 6% | 6% | 9% |
| Booted up computer in the car | 7% | 6% | 7% | 7% | 4% | 12% |
| Driven to wireless “Hot Spot” | 5% | 6% | 7% | 3% | 3% | 6% |
| Person most frequently called for number | Mom – 38% | Spouse or Sweatie – 39% | Spouse or Sweatie – 37% | Mom – 21% | Spouse or Sweatie – 37% |
Base: All qualified respondents
