News
US: Girls rule teen mobile market
Stuart O'Brien Jul 29 2008, 8:00am
Ninety-one per cent of 17 year-old girls own a mobile compared to just 78 per cent of boys.
That's according to research from MultiMedia Intelligence, which says there were 16 million Americans aged 12-17 years with mobile phones in 2007, up 12 per cent from the previous year.
By 2012, the number of teen subscribers will reach 17 million, with the Hispanic market alone accounting for three million users.
MMI says teen male segments see strong mobile ownership gains at two particular ages: 13 and 16. In 2006, 13 year-old teen boys with mobiles accounted for about one million subscribers, over 40 per cent higher than the 12 year-old teen boy segment.
Likewise, the number of 16 year-old teen boy mobile subscribers in 2007 numbered over 1.6 million, almost 30 per cent higher than the 15 year-old teen boy group.
Conversely, the difference between 16 year-old teen girls and 15 year-old teen girls was only six per cent.
Frank Dickson, chief research officer at MultiMedia Intelligence, said: “The teen market is an especially appealing market for two reasons. First, it is a primary source of new subscribers for carriers. Second, teens teach older demographic how to use their handsets
"However, the differences in the cellphone consumption patterns among the teen segments are remarkable and need to be noted. Targeting teens at the right age and gender is critical to maximise subscriber gains. Targeting teens at the wrong age at a particular gender will cause operators to miss the boat.”
