Smartphone users flock to mobile IM/chat apps

Google’s rumored bid to acquire mobile instant messaging app Whatsapp for $1 billion is yet the latest evidence that this category of mobile apps is heating up as smartphone users flock to mobile IM and chat apps as an alternative means of communication. According to the first full release of Simmons Connect^SM, 23% of adult smartphone users today access mobile IM or chat apps like Kik Messenger, Whatsapp and Google Talk during a typical week.

…mobile IM/chat apps are 30% more likely than the average smartphone owner to say that they would be interested in receiving advertisements on their phone.

While those numbers may pale in comparison to traditional texting—90% of smartphone owners text each week—marketers should keep mobile IM/chat apps on their radar given the fact that many apps in this category are ad-supported and users are especially open to mobile advertising. In fact, Simmons Connect reveals that users of mobile IM/chat apps are 30% more likely than the average smartphone owner to say that they would be interested in receiving advertisements on their phone.

Here are some other things you should know about users of mobile IM/chat apps:

Frequency and time spent:

• During a given week, the average mobile IMer/chatter opens these apps a total of 20 times and spends 12 minutes and 42 seconds IMing or chatting.

Android versus iOS users:

• Android phone owners are 2.4 times more likely than iPhone owners to use mobile IM/chat apps, but iPhone owners open the apps more often and spend more time within them.
  

A day in the life:

• Use of mobile IM/chat apps is highest on weekdays between 5:00 and 10:00 PM with peak weekly usage taking place between 8:00 and 9:00 PM on Thursdays.
  

Media multi-tasking:

• While watching TV, 72% of mobile IM/chat users say they are often texting or chatting on their phone.
  

The findings shared in this blog post come from Simmons Connect, an industry-first media planning and consumer profiling tool links more than 60,000 consumer elements to detailed insights on consumers’ use of 11 traditional and digital media platforms. Learn more about Simmons Connect.