SurfKitchen
Market Overview
Over the next five years, network operator revenue and profit growth will come from data services such as ringtones, games and multimedia as operators start to release the potential of their investments in mobile networks. According to the ARC Group of London, worldwide sales of wireless entertainment services will jump from US$8.2 billion in 2003 to US$28.2 billion in 2008. Also in 2005, the downloadable games component of entertainment services will surpass ringtones as a revenue generator for operators, exceeding US$6 billion in 2008, versus US$4 billion for ringtones. Operators are also looking to leverage data services, and the associated user experience, to increase customer loyalty, reduce churn and customer acquisition costs, which are particularly relevant items in markets approaching 100% saturation.
Current Mobile Data Services Experience
It is difficult for phone users to find what data services are on offer. It takes an average of 120-150 seconds to locate content. Being able to quickly discover data services is the single most important factor in determining how likely a service is to be used:
A recent study from User Analytics found that:
* 80% of 18-24 year olds aborted downloads if they did not receive their content in 10 seconds.
* Once response times slowed much beyond five seconds, completion rates started to drop.
* On a slow network, with response times closer to ten seconds, over 80% of people either abandoned the task or said they would turn to an alternative information source.
Mobile User Experience Needs
Users have a number of needs when discovering and consuming data services:
* Capability – fit for purpose; does what you want/need
* Ease of use – users don’t like to think; just get the task done
* Money – cost effective, perceived value for money, transparency of costs
* Ubiquity – movement, communicate, play on the move
* Immediacy – of both voice & data communications
* Self expression – user empowerment, personalisation, customisation, content & trendy brand association, differentiation
* Reassurance – Quality of Service (QoS), confidence in recognised credentials
* Community – communications, sharing of mobile content and experiences
* Choice – a variety of data services and interfaces personalised by the user
SurfKitchen is uniquely focused on addressing these issues by delivering a Dynamic User Experience (DUE) that differentiates itself from browser-based models currently on the market.
“One of the biggest obstacles facing carriers’ ability to generate repeat purchases for download content is ease-of-use or the number of “clicks” it takes to get to the content. Carriers do not have much control over the basic menu functions of a wireless handset, as this is mainly dictated by the handset vendor. However, carriers have alternative methods to drive customer awareness and repeat business for wireless content outside of the constraints of the initial handset vendor user interface (UI) menu. In some cases, carriers work closely with vendors to establish a one-click button to access the carrier’s content library.”
Suzzana Ellyn - Senior Analyst
Wireless Services, Current Analysis