Experian Simmons Reveals New Insights on Mobile Consumers

Experian Simmons Reveals New Insights On Mobile Consumers

Releases innovative mobile segmentation system and psychographic scales

New York, N.Y., March 30, 2010 — Mobile phones are an essential part of everyday life, with nine out of 10 U.S. adults today using at least one mobile device and 35 percent of mobile phone users now paying $100 a month or more for service. With the release of a new Mobile Consumer segmentation system and three new mobile psychographic scales, Experian® Simmons^SM provides marketers with much-needed insight into the divergent and rapidly evolving behaviors and attitudes of mobile consumers . These new systems currently are available to all clients in the latest release of the Simmons National Consumer Study /National Hispanic Consumer Study .

“Experian Simmons is proud to be a recognized leader for our work in developing innovative behavioral and attitudinal segmentation and profiling tools, and we are committed to providing clients with new segmentations in every quarterly release of our syndicated National Consumer Study,” said Ken Wollenberg, general manager, Experian Simmons. “The new Mobile Consumer segmentation system and psychographic scales will provide our clients with the insights they need to make important decisions as they evaluate mobile as an exciting new medium for reaching American consumers.”
Through an extensive evaluation of dozens of data points measuring the behaviors and attitudes that consumers have toward mobile communications, information gathering and entertainment, Experian Simmons uncovered five distinct segments of mobile consumers.  
The five Mobile Consumer segments now available are:

• Mobiriati (19 percent of mobile phone owners): Mobiriati represent the first generation to have grown up with mobile phones. Mobile phones are a central part of their daily life, and they cannot imagine life without them.
• Social Connectors (22 percent of mobile phone owners): Communication is key for Social Connectors, and their mobile phone is the portal they use to keep up to date with friends and social events.
• Pragmatic Adopters (22 percent of mobile phone owners): This group of mobile consumers is in the early stages of realizing that there’s more that they can do with their phone besides say, “Hello.”
• Mobile Professionals (17 percent of mobile phone owners): These busy professionals use their mobile phone to keep up with work and family life. Smart phones, rich in features, are favorites of this group.
• Basic Planners (20 percent of mobile phone owners): Technology, including mobile phones, is not of much interest to Basic Planners. For them, the basic mobile package serves all their needs.

Below are the three currently available Mobile Consumer psychographic scales developed by Experian Simmons:

• Switching Propensity: This factor measures mobile consumers’ willingness to switch service providers for a variety of reasons, including improved quality, plan selection and technology.
• Feature Focus: This factor measures the propensity of mobile consumers to place value on new mobile features and technology versus traditional calling functions.
• Traditional Use: Mobile consumers who score above average on this scale would prefer to use a landline phone over their mobile and also lean toward having only a basic calling plan.

Experian Simmons developed a report to provide an overview of American consumers’ usage of mobile phones, including an analysis of the behaviors and attitudes of the five Mobile Consumer segments. The report can be downloaded at http://smrb.com/web/guest/2010-mobile-consumer-report .
For more information on the Experian Simmons Mobile Consumer segmentation system and psychographic scales, visit http://www.ExperianSimmons.com .

Contact:
John Fetto
Experian Marketing Services
1 212 749 3162 Telephone
john.fetto@experian.com Email

About Experian Simmons
Experian Simmons, a division of Experian Marketing Services, has been chronicling the American consumer for more than 50 years. From the products that all Americans buy and the brands they prefer to their Internet shopping behaviors, attitudes and lifestyles and the media that they use, the Simmons National Consumer Studies survey more than 30,000 American consumers each year to deliver reliable national and local data. http://www.ExperianSimmons.com

About Experian Marketing Services
Experian Marketing Services delivers best-in-breed data, analytics and platforms into multiple regions around the globe. It is focused on helping marketers more effectively target and engage their best customers through email, digital advertising, customer data management, customer and competitive insight, data enrichment and list rental, modeling and analytics, and strategic consulting. Through these capabilities, Experian Marketing Services enables organizations to encourage brand advocacy, create measurable return on investment and significantly improve the lifetime value of their customers.

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2009, was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and São Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

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