Mobile phones have become an indispensable accessory for young Brazilians. In fact, for much of the developing world, mobile technology’s power to connect even the most remote areas is creating new opportunities to reach consumers. Discovering what mobile attributes are most attractive to young Brazilians can help marketers better connect with their target audience.
According to a Nielsen study conducted in nine countries (U.S., Germany, Spain, Italy, U.K., Brazil, Russia, China, India), Brazil ranks second behind Italy among the markets where multiple SIM cards are used among those aged 15–24. SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is a portable memory chip that makes it easy to switch to a new mobile phone by simply sliding the SIM out of the old phone and into the new one. Ever since SIM cards started being used in place of the CDMA technology (Code Division Multiple Access), they became part of the new norm for young Brazilians.
Cost is Critical
With little or no dispensable income, it is not surprising that price is the primary purchase driver among one-third (31%) of young Brazilian consumers. Design and style ranks second and is important to one in five consumers and form/shape is essential for one in ten.
The overwhelming majority of young Brazilians (90%) prefer the prepaid mode of payment to the postpaid, ranking third behind Russia and India. Considering that more than half (56%) of Brazilian consumers aged 15–24 pay their own mobile phone bills, they are careful to not incur big overuse charges. Comparatively, only one in four consumers in the U.S. and Spain aged 15–24 pay for their own phones and only one in five young Italians do. About half of Russian (47%), British (52%) and German (56%) consumers pay for their own mobile phones as do one-third (35%) of Indian consumers.
Beyond Basics
With only 40 percent of young Brazilian consumers taking advantage of advance data services such as mobile Internet, instant messaging, email, ring tone, game or screen saver downloads, mobile service providers have an opportunity to expand usage of these services. In fact, only between five and seven percent of young Brazilians use any of these advanced data options currently.
Chinese youth lead the way ahead of the U.S. for advanced data usage, with mobile Internet the most popular among 73 percent and 48 percent respectively.
