The financial crisis and its affects on spending and upgrade plans

Mobile users around the world are delaying plans to upgrade or buy new phone handsets while also changing their current spending habits, due to the global economic crisis. These are the findings of the first ‘Mobile Attitudes’ poll carried out by GetJar (http://www.getjar.com), the world’s most respected mobile applications portal.GetJar’s ‘Mobile Attitudes’ poll revealed that 78 percent of respondents from a worldwide audience are delaying plans to upgrade or buy a new mobile phone as a result of the current economic climate. Similarly, 76 percent of mobile phone users are immediately planning to reduce the amount they spend on phone usage.

When asked whether they had reduced spending on mobile phones in the last 12 months, more than 50 percent of respondents had not reduced their spending at all, or by as little as 10 percent, during that period. For those people who had reduced their spending, the economy was the reason given by just over one third of respondents, while 20 percent changed their usage habits to lower expenses, and a further 28 percent had switched to using free applications to avoid charges.

Current spending habits

GetJar also asked its users to reveal which mobile services they spend most money on each month. 35 percent said SMS accounted for the greatest proportion of their mobile phone bill; 18.5 percent said it was voice services; and just under 17 percent identified data services. Premium services accounted for the largest part of the monthly mobile spend for 12 percent of the survey participants.


“What we are seeing is a quite understandable reaction to the economic news that has dominated headlines all around the world,” commented Ilja Laurs, founder and CEO of GetJar. “It will be interesting to see how these intentions are played out in reality over the coming months — whether they are based on short-term concerns that will fade quite quickly, or whether we will see long-lasting changes in consumer behaviour.”

The survey also examined consumer experiences in relation to roaming charges, data costs, and who actually pays mobile phone bills around the world – subscribers themselves, their parents, or their employers.