Canada’s growing mobile market to force marketing change?

Canada’s mobile market grew by 10 per cent last year as the Internet becomes more ingrained in people’s everyday lives, a report by ComScore shows, potentially forcing a sea change in the way businesses market and sell their goods online.

Canada added nearly two million mobile customers, hitting just over 22 million users, the report published this week shows. Within that space, smartphone ownership climbed 17 percentage points to represent 62 per cent of the market.

This year will be defined by a new media landscape that gives marketers more opportunities to connect and engage with consumers than ever before, said Bryan Segal, vice president, comScore Canada.

"The growing number of digital platforms and continued adoption of mobile devices has brought to fruition an evolved consumer and more complex digital ecosystem,” he said in a statement. “Advertisers, agencies and publishers alike must have a holistic understanding of how these puzzle pieces fit together if they are to prosper in the year ahead."

Google Android now comprises 40 per cent of Canada's smartphone market, followed by Apple with 35 per cent and BlackBerry with 20 per cent. Microsoft and Symbian have 2 per cent each.

Social networking on smartphones grew 56 per cent in 2012, with more users accessing a social media site or reading blogs on their device compared to the previous year. Of that figure, 58 per cent said they were on social media sites with their smartphone almost every day and 25 per cent said at least once a week.

Online shopping was up by 10 per cent in 2012, with sales climbing to $22.3 million from $20 million, comScore said, while the number of transactions grew 17 per cent. The most popular retail web sites were Amazon, Apple, Kijiji, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

In the social media space, Facebook is the largest social network in Canada, followed by Twitter and LinkedIn. Pinterest showed the most growth in 2012 with total unique visitors surging 792 per cent.

The rise in trends of social media comes on the heels of an Ipsos survey that shows on a global basis one third of people who follow a brand’s social networking page say fun or interesting posts make them feel more connected to that brand.

The ComScore report also showed Canadians spend 41.3 hours per month surfing the Internet, which was second behind U.S. users, who logged 43 hours online each month.