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Smart glasses, phablets brace for consumption uptick as mobile entertainment grows

Smart glasses and phablets are set to dominate the mobile device market in the coming years as consumers turn to personal devices for more entertainment options and brands roll out additional mobile streaming services, according to reports from ABI Research and Juniper Research.

ABI Research predicts unit shipment growth for smart glasses to reach approximately 150 percent in 2015, while Juniper Research claims phablets will account for 400 million mobile devices shipped in 2019, a five-fold increase over this year?s projected sales. Consumers? growing demand for wearables and mobile devices with larger screens displays their desire to be able to complete relevant daily activities, such as mobile banking, while on-the-go, and also use their personal devices to access the growing number of mobile entertainment options.

?I think gaming is the primary driver for consumers in the short to medium term, but I think movies, communication and design will be the next stage,? said Nick Spencer, senior practice director at ABI Research, London, Britain. ?Movies I think is obvious, communication will be an evolution of video conferencing, probably first implemented in the board room.

?Tourism is also an opportunity, with regard to tourist guides and augmented reality along with location based advertising/offers, although safety is an issue on the streets.?

Potential for marketers
As wearables continue to grab the attention of more fans, marketers will have increased opportunities to develop wearable-friendly mobile applications or services that are relevant to users? daily lives. While Google Glass has experienced less-than-stellar sales, partly due to the unappealing aesthetic of the product, other major brands such as Microsoft are now entering the wearables space.

The Microsoft HoloLens is primarily targeted to business users, while Facebook?s acquisition of virtual reality headset Oculus Rift points to a higher focus on mobile gaming solutions. Meanwhile, activity trackers including Jawbone and Fitbit are dominating the fitness sector.

The easy consumer segmentation of wearables makes it a potentially lucrative area for brands, especially those affiliated with the entertainment industry.

Amazon is making a stake in the mobile streaming sector by placing its original films on the Prime Instant Video platform for mobile streaming four to eight weeks after their theatrical release (see story). As users gravitate towards mobile devices with larger screens, referred to as phablets, these types of services will become requisite for entertainment brands.

Millennials will also not be the only demographic to target.

?It will be spread out across demographics, but the reasons for this will differ by geography,? said James Moar, research analyst at Juniper Research, Basingstoke, Britain. ?We do not expect older consumers in North America and Europe to spend as much time viewing media on phablets as millennials, but use of phablets for other purposes (e.g. as part of a setup in the workplace) will be just as high for this demographic.

?In emerging markets in Asia, the more mobile-centric computing habits of these consumers, as well as the tendency to share devices within families, means there will be few differences in phablet purchasing and use habits by age.?

Phablet usage spike
Juniper projects that more than 400 million phablets will be shipped worldwide in 2019, a 200 percent increase on this year?s expected amount. The wider screen of these devices broadens the potential for brands to roll out more rich media content and interactive full-screen advertisements.

?Be ready to prepare advertising content that is processed in an environment suffused with rich media, socially-connected content,? Mr. Moar said. ?This means that more engaging brand interactions will be possible, and also shared more widely.

?However, the more mobile nature of phablets means that this content needs to stand out more, as consumer contact with it will be more incidental.?

Brands that are more visually inclined will likely have the best success with wearables and phablets, as both lend themselves well to artful content and 3D imaging that is able to offer more accurate views of products.

?Design is the main opportunity for marketers,? Mr. Spencer said. ?Imagine being able to design a house refurbishing or how furniture would look in one of your rooms.

?You could turn up to a kitchen showroom with the dimensions of your room, feed them into a computer and then design your room, paint, kitchen units, worktops, etc. in 3D.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York