The True North, Strong and Mobile: A Look at Canada's Mobile Landscape

The mobile device revolution is sweeping across the globe as more people purchase Smartphone, Tablet and eReader devices. This is true in Canada as well, and although the infatuation is strong, we are showing signs of maturing as mobile device users. But that doesn't mean we're not eager to buy and consume!

Twice a year Ipsos takes measure of Canada's mobile device marketplace - how Canadians are using their Smartphone, Tablet and eReader devices, which brands they prefer, and what they crave next. Now entering its fourth wave, let's take a look at a few recent findings from Mobil-ology - our syndicated study of the mobile market in Canada.

Canada's Mobile Brandscape

Canada's mobile device market landscape is sizzling and for some brands, this means big gains and even bigger stakes.

Wave 4 (Fall 2012) of Mobil-ology, conducted in August 2012, examined market penetration and brand preferences across the three device categories. The results reveal several important shifts in brand dominance across the country and across categories.

Overall product penetration shows continuing growth for all three devices, and particularly so for Smartphone and Tablet devices. Smartphone penetration now sits at 40% (up from 23% in January 2011) and Tablet adoption has risen to 15% (up from 3% - a remarkable 400% rate of growth since January 2011).

The big story here is the growth in popularity of Smartphone devices using an Android operating system. Although Apple's iPhone continues to make steady gains, Smartphones using the Android OS have been living up to the buzz, making the most ground in the wake of RIM's losses.

Apple (29%) and BlackBerry (27%) remain the top two Smartphone manufacturing brands in Canada, but overall, Android OS phones edge out both when these devices are considered as a collective. Combined market share for brands using the Android OS lead with 36% of the market, which is up 10% points since January 2011. This jump in growth is due in no small part to the growing popularity in Canada of Samsung's Android-powered Smartphones, which have doubled to 18% share since January 2011. Apple has also benefited, now achieving a higher penetration rate in Canada than BlackBerry, however, their growth is less pointed, having risen just 6% points since January 2011.

Android is also making ground on the Tablet front. While Apple's iPad remains the dominant brand, Samsung's Android-powered Tablets are making significant gains. Though relatively modest at 9%, Samsung has doubled its share of the Tablet market since January 2011. Further, there are a number of other noteworthy contenders in the Tablet market that predominantly offer models that use the Android OS, e.g., Acer (6%), Asus (4%). While individual market share for these brands are relatively modest, combined, they demonstrate the growing strength of Android products in the Canadian market.

Going forward, Apple may continue to lose ground in the Tablet market, and while the big question remains how much and to whom, they continue to dominant at this stage. In fact, Apple's closest competitor is BlackBerry's Playbook, with 19% of the market; however, much of this may be attributed to heavy discounting in late 2011 and early 2012 after a lacklustre entrance into the market. So far, Android appears to be the strongest contender with Samsung's Tablets performing the strongest (9%), and we have yet to see the impact of the recently released Google Nexus. Also, we should not discount Microsoft's Surface rumoured to be introduced later this year.

Which of these devices, if any so far, will have the appeal to give Apple a run for its money? We look forward to the next wave in January 2013 to find out.

Maturing Users

Canadians love their mobile devices, but they are clearly entering the `comfort zone' in the relationship. The Wave 3 (Spring 2012) report of Ipsos Reid's Mobil-ology, shows that the frequency at which Canadians are using their Smartphones, Tablets and eReaders remains stable, however, the average duration of time they report using them has declined.

Wave 3 of the study, conducted in March/April 2012, shows that device usage has stabilized over time, but the time spent on each device has declined.

In Wave 3 (Spring 2012), Canadians reported spending 2.8 hours per day on their Smartphone, down significantly from the 3.3 hours they reported in Wave 1 (Spring 2011) of the Mobil-ology study. Significant drops were also reported for hours spent on Tablets (2.4 hours down from 3.2 hours) and eReaders (1.8 hours down from 2.1 hours) over the same period.

Along a similar vein, declines are also noted in the frequency at which Smartphone and Tablet users download new Apps and delete those they no longer use.

These changes further support the notion that Canadians are maturing as mobile users. Decreases may be due in part to users settling in with their device and usage levels normalizing as the novelty wears off and users are in less of an exploratory phase. Beyond this, however, shifts may also be related to the expansion of the user base beyond the `techies' and early adopters to the broader population who may, by their nature, spend less time using technology/devices.

Teenage Dreams

When it comes to their relationship with Smartphones, Teens have a shorter honeymoon phase than Adults. Wave 3 (Spring 2012) of Mobil-ology shows that while Teenagers have handsets that are typically newer than Adults (10 months old vs. 13 months old among Adult Canadians), they are more inclined to express a desire to switch their brand of device within the next 6 months (16% vs. 12% top-3-box on a 7-point likelihood scale - though minimal in appearance, this represents a significant difference).

Mobil-ology results show that this experimental nature extends beyond just the brand of handsets. Use of Apps among Adult and Teen Smartphone users is equally common, with approximately four-in-five (77% of Adults and 79% of Teens) stating that they have downloaded and used an App on their device. But the two groups differ when it comes to the frequency at which they download new and delete previously downloaded Apps. Notable declines in these behaviours occurred among Adult Smartphone users between Wave 2 (Fall 2011) and Wave 3 (Spring 2012), however, over the same period, the same was not evident among Teens.

Use of iPhones and devices operating on the Android operating system has increased among Teens over the last six months, and both of these have a reputation for offering a richer and wider selection of Apps relative to BlackBerry devices. This may be a factor contributing to high and stable frequencies of these behaviours among Teens. However, at the same time, Teens may simply be more inquisitive and exploratory by nature.