comScore: Mobile Maps More Popular Than Online Maps

by Justin

This summer it’s a safe bet to say that you’re spending a fair amount of time on the road, whether in your car or on foot, and no matter how you move comScore reports that there is a good chance you’ve used mobile maps to find out where you are and where you’re going. In the 3-month period ending May 2008, 8% of American mobile subscribers and 3% of European subscribers accessed maps in some form from a mobile phone. Now these may not seem like huge numbers but that represents a growth rate of 82% in the US and 49% in Europe. Those numbers looking bigger now?

For the most part those accessing mobile maps on their cellphones are looking for driving directions. In the US the iPhone counts for the most mapping use, while Nokia’s N95 takes the cake in Europe. Check out the full release after the jump.

RESTON, Va., July 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq:
SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported that the use
of mobile maps is increasingly popular in the United States and Europe,
with 8 percent of American mobile subscribers and 3 percent of European
subscribers accessing maps from the mobile phone in the three-month period
ending May 2008. This represents a growth rate of 82 percent and 49 percent
in the number of users, respectively. According to the comScore M:Metrics
Benchmark Study, the iPhone is the leading device used to access maps in
the United States, and in Europe, the device trails the Nokia N95 and N70.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO)

Map Access via Mobile Device
Three-month average ending May 2007 and May 2008
United States and Western Europe
Source: comScore M:Metrics

Users (000s) % of Mobile Subscribers
Country May-07 May-08 Change May-07 May-08
France 907 1,265 40% 2.0% 2.7%
Germany 663 963 45% 1.4% 2.0%
Italy 1,595 2,142 34% 3.5% 4.6%
Spain 702 1,080 54% 2.0% 3.0%
United Kingdom 1,247 2,147 72% 2.0% 2.7%
Europe* 5,114 7,597 49% 2.4% 3.4%
United States 9,280 16,871 82% 4.4% 7.5%

*Includes top five countries listed.

“The mobile phone as a personal navigation device makes tremendous
sense,” observed Mark Donovan, senior analyst, comScore. “With the influx
of devices, such as the iPhone with GPS, entering the market, Nokia’s
purchase of NAVTEQ and the growing popularity of downloadable navigation
applications, you don’t need a map to see where this sector is going.”

According to comScore, 73 percent of mobile subscribers accessing maps
are doing so via the browser in the U.S., and in Europe, 57 percent. Less
than a third of Americans and Europeans are using a downloaded application,
which allows even feature phones, with less computing power and often
smaller screens, to better render graphic-rich maps and directions. Despite
the ubiquity of SMS usage in Europe, the penetration of consumers accessing
maps and directions via SMS is 24 percent; only one percentage point higher
than it is in the United States.

The vast majority of mobile map users are seeking driving directions,
even in Europe, where public transportation and non-vehicular options are
more popular.

Mode of Transport Intended to be Used when Accessing Maps
Three-month average ending May 2007 and May 2008
United States and Western Europe
Source: comScore M:Metrics

France Germany Italy Spain UK US
% Penetration of Activity

Driving or riding in car 79.9% 62.4% 77.3% 63.9% 57.9% 85.7%
Using public transit 18.6% 30.0% 15.1% 26.1% 30.2% 14.9%
Walking, running or biking 21.5% 31.2% 19.4% 22.1% 41.0% 14.6%

While mobile access to maps has surged, online access to maps using the
PC shows more modest gains in the United States and Western Europe. In the
United Kingdom, which posted the highest growth in mobile access to maps at
72 percent, online access via the PC dipped from 45 percent penetration in
May 2007 to 41 percent in May 2008. In the U.S., the increase in the number
of users accessing maps from a mobile device far outpaced the increase in
the number of people who accessed maps via the PC.

Map Access via PC
May 2007 and May 2008
United States and Western Europe
Source: comScore Media Metrix

Unique Visitors (000s) % of Online Population
Country May-07 May-08 Change May-07 May-08
United States 70,471 72,327 3% 44.9 44.2
United Kingdom 14,215 14,027 -1% 45.1 40.7
Germany 11,597 12,188 5% 35.4 35.1
France 10,510 11,622 11% 40.9 37.4
Spain 5,245 5,645 8% 37.7 35.4
Italy 4,718 5,436 15% 26.2 28.3

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the
digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section
of approximately 2 million Internet users who have given comScore
permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction
behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also
participate in survey research that gathers and integrates their attitudes
and intentions. Using its proprietary technology, comScore measures what
matters across a broad spectrum of digital behavior and attitudes and helps
clients design more powerful marketing strategies that deliver superior
ROI. With its recent acquisition of M:Metrics, comScore is also a leading
source of data on mobile usage. In an independent survey of 800 of the
nation’s most influential publishers, advertising agencies and advertisers
conducted by William Blair & Company in July 2008, comScore was rated the
‘most preferred online audience measurement service’ by 54% of respondents,
a full 20 points ahead of its nearest competitor. comScore services are
used by more than 950 clients, including global leaders such as AOL,
Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best
Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox
Sports, Nestle, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal
Service, the University of Chicago, Verizon Services Group and ViaMichelin.
For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com.

About M:Metrics

Acquired by comScore, Inc. in May 2008, M:Metrics is an authoritative
source of data on mobile usage. Using its proprietary on-device metering
technology and one of the world’s largest monthly surveys of mobile users,
M:Metrics provides data on actual mobile content consumption by applying
trusted media measurement methodologies to the mobile market. M:Metrics’
monthly syndicated data service gives clients the critical insights and
intelligence used to inform smart business strategies and the competitive
benchmarks needed to evaluate the performance of competitors and partners.
M:Metrics services are used by more than 180 clients, including global
leaders in the mobile, advertising, technology and consumer goods
industries such as Verizon, Vodafone, Microsoft, RIM, FOX, CBS, BBC, BMW,
Samsung, Palm, Qualcomm, Ericsson, O&M, and JWT. For more information,
please visit http://www.mmetrics.com.