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A featured insight by Nielsen, the research agency, says that while statistics put India as an exciting country for telecom players, what is more interesting is the growth in count of a certain type of consumer - the telecom super consumer.
India has the highest smartphone growth rate, more than even China, and the average Indian spends around two hours and 45 minutes each day on her smartphone, while one in the US spends two hours and 27 minutes.
But the super consumer or really heavy user are substantially more involved with their smartphones than the average, Nielsen says. While 33 per cent of smartphone users are super consumers, they are still influential in setting trends, and an important segment for mobile applications, online products and digital services.
Who is the super consumer
Based on data usage habits, Nielsen says the top 33 per cent and the bottom 33 per cent constitute heavy and light users respectively, while the remaining are medium users. The telecom super consumer utilises three times more data and spends 20 per cent more time on their phones than regular consumers.
Globally, mobile Internet users are also heavy consumers of Wi-Fi. In India, this is not the case.
Nielsen says the age group of 18 to 24 years spent approximately three hours a day on their smartphones. At 20 per cent, male telecom super consumers outnumber female consumers at 11 per cent.
Tracking usage patterns
Given the inordinate amount of time spent on their phones, super consumers are also the biggest consumers of applications, games and other digital media. In fact, they spend approximately 48 per cent more time in app stores than other smartphone users.
While data network reliability and performance are the key drivers of Internet usage, ease of navigation and app usability are also important.
It would be a mistake, however, to dismiss super consumers solely as social media junkies.
They are increasingly using chat applications for business purposes, online shopping, watching videos online and mobile payment apps.
The good news
Super consumers present a big opportunity in the telecom industry, as these heavy users are also the ones ready to pay that extra buck for any useful and relevant services.
Given their high engagement, they will also be willing to adopt newer services ahead of the curve. As a result, they present a very good opportunity for test marketing of newer services and applications.
However, it is highly imperative for the service providers to give seamless data connectivity and experience. Super consumers are demanding a global experience, and poor broadband connectivity is still a huge challenge.
