Smartphone-savvy city dwellers want new mobile services to improve their lives; they just don’t always expect ICT companies to be the ones delivering them, according to a new survey from Ericsson ConsumerLab.
“Mass demand for new ICT services can change city life, beyond what we recognize, in just three years,” said Michael Björn, head of research at Ericsson ConsumerLab. Ericsson’s survey asked 7,500 iPhone and Android users living in Beijing, London, New York, São Paolo, and Tokyo about their interest in 18 potential services. On the whole, urban smartphone users were very interested in services that improve things they already liked about city life, such as access to shopping and leisure activities, as well as services that help with things that they disliked, namely communication with authorities, child and elderly care, and worst of all—traffic.
“The results of this study show that consumers welcome innovation in many areas of their everyday experiences in the city,” Björn said. The trend toward more connected cities has been growing for some time. It’s also clear from the new report that the users in urban areas expect big changes fast. When asked about potential mobile services such as restaurant ingredient checkers, same-day product delivery and personal transportation planners, the respondents expected the services to be available on a mass market basis within three years.
Mobile services that were tested included social restaurant guides, a digital real-time trainer, situational shopping recommenders, mobile menus and table reservations. Several new service concepts addressed city residents’ dissatisfaction with child care and city services, including social care networks that enable easy communication with family members via any device and a contextual mobile city service that provides location-based information from local authorities.
However, users didn’t see mobile operators as driving these innovations. They saw the relevant industry, such as restaurants, stores and government agencies, providing the services.
The picture was a little different when it came to traffic, the number one source of dissatisfaction. In the survey, 47% of smartphone owners expressed an interest in a personal navigator that provides travel information for all modes of transportation. And in this area, they saw mobile operators taking the lead.
