First published May 2010, and fully updated in June 2011, Application Store Billing report is the first report to identify and document the characteristics of a winning and competitive app store. This is echoed in the foreword provided by Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP), publisher of the WIP App Store Catalog, the most comprehensive listing of mobile app stores available.

Analyzing business models, the report identifies these key characteristics:

• Convenience (discoverability and finding everything in one place), compatibility (apps specific to the device), choice (a wide selection to choose from) and ease of payment are the key criteria that make app stores a destination for end users
• Global reach, a solid infrastructure including flexible payment systems, analytics and merchandizing tools, and an app store´s marketing power are the key enablers for app developer success

The report incorporates latest analysis of emerging mobile device ecosystems and application store trends, drawing from research by ABI Research, Chetan Sharma Consulting, Deutsche Bank, Juniper Research and VisionMobile, as well as the Netsize mobile market trend survey.

Application Store Billing report also contains fully updated Netsize rankings of top-70 application stores, including ranking by app store type (platform, device, operator, independent, directory) and app type (free apps, paid apps, total apps).

The report is available as a free download from www.netsize.com.

It is with great pleasure that we present to you a brand new edition of the Netsize Guide 2010, Mobile Renaissance. For the first time in its 9-year history the book is now updated in its publication year with five new interviews and hot new 2010 telecommunications market data. We´ve kept the original 2009 data, providing you with a unique quarterly view on the mobile telecommunications market trend in 40 countries globally.

Download the Netsize Guide 2010 Updated Edition

Share with us your opinion of the Netsize Guide. Please take a moment to take part in our Netsize Guide reader survey. The questionnaire will take a few minutes to complete. Your feedback will help us to stay focused on what matters to you.

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We´d also like to stay in touch with you via social media. Follow @NetsizeCorp and @NetsizeGuide on Twitter. You can also visit our Netsize Guide microsites – Mobile Renaissance and the Netsize briefing room on MSearchGroove – where you are welcome to post your suggestions regarding new topics and trends you feel we should explore in the Netsize Guide.

We are confident you will benefit from the content and case studies we are covering in our upcoming projects, and we look forward to learning what content and companies you would appreciate most.

Drawing from a survey of 1,000+ mobile professionals and practitioners across 67 countries, the report concludes that credit card billing is by no means the way to reach a large and global audience.

The survey found that 85 percent of respondents indicated that operator billing is a key enabler, 39 percent also included credit cards in the mix. A me-too application storefront modeled on the Apple blueprint is not enough.

Payment methods with greatest growth of importance in next five years

The increasing importance of mobile billing schemes relative to credit cards concurs with the findings of Edgar Dunn & Company 2009 Global Payment Trends Survey.

Payment professionals indicated that contactless cards, remote mobile payments and, to a lesser extent, prepaid card products will gain the most importance in the coming 5 years. See chart 1.

In another study, Edgar Dunn & Company identified younger consumers (18 to 30 years old) as the most interested in such alternative payment products, followed by eBay sellers, convenience seekers, and users without access to credit. See chart 2.

Which customer segment is more receptive to alternative payment products

In its 2009 annual report eBay noted that in 2009, more
than $600 million worth of sales were transacted through its mobile applications.

The success of mobile payments relies on speed, convenience and trustworthiness. These are the key enablers “sine qua non”.

Merchants will not implement a new payment mechanism if implementation costs are high, consumer awareness is low and it carries risks of chargebacks, according to the same report.

The good news is that around the world the industry – meaning, mobile network operators, financial institutions, industry regulators and government bodies – are collaborating to ensure that mobile payments will be just that: upright, unfailing and ubiquitous, and a solid alternative to established online payment methods.

Payforit in the United Kingdom is a striking example of a payment method that has made the leap forward from a mobile web-only scheme to the Internet and mobile web at large – be it in the UK, for now.

Online stores and retailers, whether selling “just apps” or more, should look beyond the card.

Referenced reports:

Netsize, the leading mobile commerce and communications enabler, today released “Unlocking the Value of Mobile Commerce”, a report that examines the role of mobile in (online and physical) retail and commerce.

The free report includes exclusive research on the value amounts that people are ready for and willing to pay through their mobile phone for pricey items that go beyond the usual mix of transport tickets and parking tokens.

The report contains data from a Netsize survey of 1,000+ mobile professionals and practitioners and concludes that mobile payment is poised to super-charge shopping as users show a significant interest in buying digital and physical goods and services with their mobile phone.

Key findings:

• While almost all respondents (94 percent) said they would be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase goods totaling up to €25.00 using their mobile phones, 83 percent of respondent indicated that they would be open to pay for items such as concert tickets (valued at amounts up to €50.00) with their mobile phones.

• Additionally, over half (51 percent) of respondents reported they would be likely to purchase physical goods for amounts up to €100.00 with their mobile phones. This figure confirms the huge growth potential for mobile commerce and increased interest in new ways to shop and buy.

• Payment mechanisms are critical to the quality of the mobile shopping experience. In fact, respondents stressed they value the freedom to choose the method they prefer. Specifically, most (60 percent) respondents report that payment choice is important to them.

• Mobile commerce is poised to reach new heights provided the industry addresses a number of key issues. Clearly, companies and merchants are called on to provide a choice of payment methods. However, all companies across the emerging mobile commerce ecosystem must work together to remove the regulatory barriers that make mobile commerce a challenge.

The full report is available from http://www.netsize.com/Ressources_mCommerce-Report.htm

1. Relevancy Rules

   The ability to deliver the right message to the right person is one of mobile’s biggest selling points. Add the right context (content, location and timeliness of the message), and the relevancy of the message is boosted in a major way. Precise targeting is the top reason for marketers to include mobile marketing in their plans.

   

   Mobile Marketing Drivers (Source: Netsize Mobile Marketing Survey 2009). Copyright 2009-2010 Netsize. All rights reserved. www.netsize.com

2. Inhibitors Vary

   Starting with mobile marketing will find you overcome a few hurdles. The quality of your database, in particular acquisition of opt-in mobile numbers and maintenance of data quality might be a concern, and adherence to rules and regulations. What should be a realistic expectation on conversion ratios, and how to objectively measure campaign results? What tools to use and how to integrate with your existing CRM or campaign systems? Discuss these questions with your mobile marketing provider to set the strategy that is right for you.

   

   Mobile Marketing Inhibitors (Source: Netsize Mobile Marketing Survey 2009). Copyright 2009-2010 Netsize. All rights reserved. www.netsize.com

3. Messaging Leads the Pack

   The survey uncovers a decidedly positive attitude toward mobile marketing approaches and formats that build on the popularity and usability of text messaging and made-for-mobile destinations. For reaching a mass market, SMS is best positioned by far. Quick and easy to use, well understood, and flexible to be used for two-way text communications and in combination with more advanced media and formats, such as the mobile web, barcodes and also mobile applications.

4. Keep the Customer

   Mobile marketing is used to acquire new customers as well as to retain existing customers. In the given economic circumstances it does not come as a surprise that retention marketing is showing strong growth. Mobile marketing adds value to loyalty programs, where relevant and timed messages increase the closeness of the brand to the consumer, and provide stimuli for him to act, or as some say, spend.

5. Teams Work

   Mobile marketing is team work. While companies are convinced of the benefits of mobile marketing, the vast majority of companies still lack the resources and know-how to achieve their goals alone. Activities that are typically outsourced to an external service provider are campaign execution, and analytics and reporting.

   

   Mobile Marketing Resources (Source: Netsize Mobile Marketing Survey 2009). Copyright 2009-2010 Netsize. All rights reserved. www.netsize.com

To learn more about how companies make the most from mobile marketing, visit www.netsize.com. Here you can also download the full Netsize Mobile Marketing Survey Summary Report (free pdf download).

Netsize, a leading mobile commerce and communications enabler, today revealed the first results of the Mobile Trends Survey 2010. Drawing from an online survey of 1,000+ professionals and practitioners, the survey provides insights into key trends that top the industry agenda, including the advance of mobile applications stores, progress towards global mobile commerce and the pivotal importance of mobile as a means to bridge our virtual and physical worlds.

Using the occasion of M-Days – one of Europe’s biggest mobile industry events and exhibitions held in Munich, Germany – Netsize provided conference attendees, industry influencers and key bloggers a sneak peek into the controversial survey results, starting with respondents’ views on app store leaders and the enablers that give them and their offers the competitive edge.

According to the survey, the vast majority (87 percent) of respondents believe the Apple App Store will be the most successful app store in the mobile space. Google’s Android Market is a distant second (60 percent), followed by Nokia’s Ovi Store (30 percent) and RIM’s BlackBerry App World (27 percent). Surprisingly, applications stores run by mobile operators finished low in the list, indicating that platform providers and handset makers may well dominate the space for a time to come.

When asked to rate the unique selling proposition of application stores over other software distribution and sales channels, 65 percent of respondents put convenience (“everything in one place”) at the top of the list. This was followed by compatibility “software applications specific to the device”), choice (“a long tail of thousands of applications to choose from”), and ease of payment (“operator billing, for example”).

Netsize, provider of operator billing solutions to most of the large mobile device vendors for their application stores, released the application store survey findings to the stage for a lively discussion of the future of mobile and the role of software application stores during “Mobile Trends 2020, Mobile Research and App-Commerce: What Comes Next in Europe?” The M-Days session was led and moderated by Peggy Anne Salz, mobile thought leader and MSearchGroove Founder and Chief Analyst.

The complete mobile trends survey results – which cover topics related to mobile entertainment, mobile marketing, mobile commerce, mobile payments and mobile convergence – will be released as part of the Netsize Guide 2010, a comprehensive mobile industry analysis and almanac published by Netsize and written by MSearchGroove’s Salz. Netsize will launch the Netsize Guide 2010 on February 16, 2010 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

We invite you to share your views on the 5 themes of mobile for 2010: Activation, Interaction, Conversation, Transaction and Transformation.

We give away 100 copies of the Netsize Guide 2010 printed edition to survey participants! For a chance to win one of these copies enter your email address at the end of the survey. Winners will be contacted by email in December.

Take the survey now!

This survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and participation in the survey is completely anonymous.

• International survey reveals companies and brands bullish on mobile marketing benefits, but lack skills set to execute campaigns
• Strong growth ahead for SMS and MMS messaging, positive outlook for branded apps and mobile websites
• High interest in targeting consumers, high concerns that opt-in databases won’t deliver

Among the key findings:

• Mobile is part of the mix to attract and keep customers: The vast majority of respondents (56%) currently use mobile to acquire new customers. But that will change as respondents follow through on their plans to boost customer retention and loyalty through mobile marketing (64%), streamline transactions (37%) and enable commerce and sales using a mobile device (37%).
• Messaging is essential: Usage of MMS is poised for significant growth, with with 22% of respondents revealing plans to double deployment in the next six months. The use of SMS messaging is also on the rise, but will move from a one-way message to a two-way conversation.
• Marked interest in more innovative formats: Respondents reported use of branded content will increase from 29% to 35%, use of branded apps will rise from 23% to 35%. Finally, use of mobile coupons and QR codes will jump from 20% to 31%.
• Mobile marketing is teamwork: The vast majority of respondents (47%) outsource to providers that can meet their requirements for a fully-managed marketing solution. Campaign execution services was the most sought-after skill (57%), followed by measurement, analytics and reporting (54%), technical services and integration (52%), and mobile campaign management (52%).
• Quality of opt-in campaign databases is a main concern: One-third of respondents (32%) expressed concern over the quality of the customer mobile phone numbers stored in their opt-in databases.

“Market adoption of mobile marketing is accelerating. The survey results and analysis show companies and brands recognize the business benefits associated with mobile marketing and are serious about integrating mobile in their strategies,” says Stanislas Chesnais, Chairman and CEO, Netsize. “Respondents told us they are increasing use of messaging to engage in conversations with consumers on their mobile phone, and stepping up efforts to harness other exciting formats and approaches such as WAP sites, mobile websites and branded content. This momentum can only grow as the economy picks up steam.”

ABOUT THE REPORT

“Netsize Mobile Marketing Survey 2009: Can companies and brands rise to challenge and cash in on the mobile marketing opportunity?” is available from www.netsize.com.
The survey was conducted by Netsize to determine the role and usage of mobile marketing and the perceived business benefits. In total 221 respondents from four regions (Europe, Americas, Asia Pacific/Australia and Africa/Middle East) participated in this online survey for the period from September 15, 2009 through October 1, 2009.

Netsize, leading mobile commerce and communications enabler, today announced the launch of its Global market survey for Mobile Marketing.

The survey aims to uncover the extent to which mobile marketing has become a mature instrument in the marketing mix. Researched topics include strategic drivers, tactics, resources, opt-in data and short term plans for deployment.

The survey follows the one that Netsize conducted end of 2008 in collaboration with Informa Telecoms & Media as part of the Netsize Guide 2009. The study found that the number of companies that spend over 5% of their digital budget on mobile was expected to increase from 30% to 49% by 2010, a growth of 63%.

“The results very clearly suggested that mobile marketing is bound to become main stream,” says Stanislas Chesnais, Chairman and CEO, Netsize. “This year’s survey provides a reality check: how are companies moving ahead with mobile marketing in the current economic frame, and what did they do to enable successful campaigns.”

The Netsize mobile marketing survey report will be published begin October. A summary of the report is available free of charge to all participants.

Participate in the survey

Netsize is currently conducting a global survey on mobile marketing. The survey aims to obtain insight to what extent mobile marketing has become a mature instrument in the marketing mix.

We regard mobile marketing as the use of a mobile phone for marketing communications, commerce and services, between a company and its targeted audiences.

Please share your views and experiences with others by participating in this survey.

If you would like to receive the summary report, you may fill in your email address at the end of this survey and we’ll send it to you by email at the beginning of October.

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete and participation in the survey is anonymous.

To begin the survey, click here.