5 Mobile Trends to Watch in 2012

To no one’s surprise, smart phone usage continues to grow rapidly. In a recent webinar, Emarketer.com projected that smart phones, tablets and e-readers will each increase in consumer popularity by 7-8% in 2012. Below are the top 5 mobile trends to watch this year.

1. There’s an App for That!

There are so many apps now, in fact, that developers will have an increasingly difficult time getting their work noticed. 2012 will be the year of App Market Saturation and only the best—the highly engaging and usable—will rise to the top.

Gartner’s Top 10 Smart Phone App Categories for 2012:

  1. Money Transfer Apps
  2. Location-Specific Services
  3. Mobile Searching Facilities
  4. Mobile Browsing Facilities
  5. Mobile Health Monitoring
  6. Mobile Payment Services
  7. Near Field Communication Services
  8. Mobile Advertising Services (This is listed since it is the means for mobile apps becoming profitable)
  9. Mobile Instant Messaging
  10. Mobile Music

2. Where are you?

If you have a smart phone, chances are you are already using location-based services such as mobile coupons and check-in services. Last year, 55% of smart phone users utilized location-based recommendations and services. In 2012, expect to see more from these services including an increase in time-sensitive deals, a rise in effort among these companies to gain customer loyalty, and an increase in advertising within these services.

3. Pay with Your Phone

Get ready for your smart phone to double as your credit card, too! Apps such as Square and Google Wallet, which are designed for mobile payment, will become increasingly available in 2012 though most likely will not go mainstream this year.

4. Video Killed the Radio Star

You already watch a lot of videos on YouTube and Vimeo, right? In 2012, video is the latest game-changer. Emarketer.com predicts that spending on video advertising will surpass $3 billion this year and that this genre of advertising will have the broadest reach of all ad formats. The online video audience is expected to grow 18% this year.

5. Mobile Search

TechCrunch recently reported Ross Sandler’s estimate that mobile search volume will increase from 9% to 20% of all searches. Local ads will generate a sizable portion of the mobile search ad revenue. Do you run a local business? Now is the time to jump into mobile advertising.

What is your favorite mobile trend? We invite you to join the conversation in the comments section below!

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