Australians love YouTube, job and property sites on mobiles – how small businesses can take advantage of the trend

Australians love browsing YouTube, job, property and car sales websites on their smartphones, new research reveals, and businesses should target these for advertising in order to boost their growth.

Market research firm Frost and Sullivan’s latest report into Australian mobile device usage trends found Australians are increasingly searching for jobs, houses or cars to rent or buy while on the move, and this is tipped to increase as the functionality of mobile devices improves.

Watching videos on mobile devices is also predicted to increase, as faster wireless networks become the norm – and businesses are being urged to create new and valuable video content as quickly as possible.

Currently, 60% of smartphone users watch video content on YouTube at least once a month and 27% of users watch this content most days.

Frost and Sullivan Australia and New Zealand senior research manager Phil Harpur told SmartCompany the biggest growth in the digital marketing sector is coming from businesses advertising on mobile devices and through video content.

“Historically, in Australia there has been a lag in mobile advertising despite consumer consumption going up because of the difficulty in producing ads which will play across a number of devices. We will see a massive growth in this area in the next few years.

The viewing of video content is predicted to grow significantly as data caps increase and by 2018 Frost and Sullivan predict more than 80% of smartphone users will watch videos frequently.

Shoppable functionality in video content has been around for a while, but last year YouTube streamlined the technology and made it less clunky, providing an innovative feature which most Australian retailers are yet to embrace.

Taboo strategy directory Richard Hack previously told SmartCompany this technology has created a direct link between video views and sales and if used effectively, can provide a solid ROI.

Online retailer ASOS also created a series of shoppable videos using YouTube last year, which featured pop singers Ellie Goulding and Azealia Banks.

Frost and Sullivan’s research also found user generated videos are the most popular content viewed via tablets.

Booking travel and accommodation is also becoming increasingly popular online. The report found 28% of Australian consumers book travel or accommodation via a travel provider’s website at least once a month, with 57% doing so every six months.

The study found the smartphone market is getting closer to maximum penetration, as ownership will increase from the current estimated 73% of 15 to 65-year-olds to 93% in the next five years.

Tablet usage was found to be growing more quickly with the penetration of tablets in Australian households projected to increase from 49% in 2013 to 80% in 2018.

Harpur says the increased penetration of these devices is a result of better innovation within the sector.

“Obviously they have better functionality. Smartphones now also have better resolution and larger screens,” he says.

While the iPhone remains a popular choice for consumers, Frost and Sullivan says Apple’s market share of the mobile device market has decreased.

Android has now taken over as the most used operating system and Apple’s iOS is predicted to drop even further to less than 30% by 2017.