BANGALORE, INDIA: InMobi, a provider of mobile advertising network in India, released a survey revealing nuances of mobile internet usage patterns in India.

According to the survey, fifty-seven percent (57 percent) of respondents browse the internet on their mobile phones, and close to one-third of respondents who surf the Internet through their mobile phones engage with brands that advertise. Of whose who engaged with the ads, they were most likely to visit the ad’s website (72.5 percent) but also went so far as to call the company (10 percent), or buy the product (17.5 percent).

The survey was conducted at IIT School of Management and surveyed 205 college-aged consumers. Although a very specific sample group, the results do offer some insight into India’s youth generation who make up the largest population sector in the country. 

Survey results also showed that the college-aged consumers are equally interested in almost all genres of mobile advertising, as long as the advertisements have something significant to offer and do not interfere with the mobile browsing experience. Among ads, those most welcomed are fast free coupons, free mobile games with embedded unobtrusive ads, money transfer services, free humorous clips and Bluetooth-based “alerts” for items on sale nearby.

Mobile internet usage broke down in the following way:
Respondents may select more than one website.

Mobile internet browsing is spread across income groups of those with mobile phones. Specifically, 20 percent of the respondents who access the Internet on their mobile phones are from the working class demographic, 38 percent are from the lower middle class and 42 percent are from the upper middle class. This data shows that mobile Internet usage is not limited to only the upper middle class.

Mobile is clearly becoming a mass medium in India – having extended out from only the most affluent individuals in the very largest metropolitan areas.

In addition, Airtel is the clear leader in terms of the percentage of respondents browsing the Internet on their mobile phones. Reliance is the only service provider where less than 50 percent of the respondents browse the internet, most likely because Reliance phones are not used frequently for value-added services.