Critical Path finds 94% of consumers in emerging markets are dissatisfied with social networking

Friday, 05 March 2010 00:00  |  James Barton

Critical Path, a provider of messaging applications, has revealed search results indicating that consumers in emerging markets are dissatisfied with their social networking experience, in line with their Western European neighbours (Source: Critical Path research October 2009). Nine out of ten respondents access social networks on a weekly basis, yet approximately two thirds are unable to access up-to-date contact information.

Critical Path surveyed seven countries to gauge the social networking habits of consumers in Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Northern Europe as part of a continuing series of global consumer research initiatives. Almost half (46%) of the respondents are dissatisfied with their devices’ facility to share contact information, with only 36% of respondents always updating changes to contact information across each of their social address books. Most (57%) consumers are frustrated with the process of informing people about a change in their contact details, while approximately two thirds find integrating other people’s changes into their various address books even more frustrating.

Out of the 3,500 respondents surveyed: 

• 94% would like to be able to update all of their contacts with new contact information automatically
• 96% would like the option to back up and restore address book information
• 95% want choice over the types of updates they receive from social networking sites
• 49% of consumers would be willing to pay for a service that updates and manages contacts and social networks in one place

 “Our latest research shows social networks are becoming increasingly important in consumers’ daily online interactions”, says Mark Palomba, CEO Critical Path. “While user preferences vary from region to region, there is a clear demand for an intuitive solution that unifies fragmented contact information across social networks.”

Country specific statistics: 

Latin America 

• 81% of respondents from Brazil would pay €2 per month for a service which allowed them to update and manage all of their contacts and social networking updates
• 94% of respondents from Brazil would like to use a service which allows them to receive updates from all social networking sites in one place
• 94% of respondents from Argentina would like a service to protect their address book information by backing up all the data so it can be restored quickly and easily to the mobile

 Asia-Pacific 

• 75% of respondents from China said they would be willing pay for a service that allowed them to update and manage all of their contacts and social networking updates
• Indian respondents are split on willingness to pay, with 33% preferring a one-time fee of €5 and a per sync fee of €0.5…
• …While 44% of respondents from India would prefer to pay €2 per month for unlimited synchronisation

Northern Europe 

• Only 26% of respondents from the Czech Republic always update contact information across each of their social address books
• 81% of respondents from Poland place affordability as a high priority when looking at features of a possible service

 About the research

The research was carried out online by Vanson Bourne during December 2009 amongst a nationally representative sample of 3,500 consumers across Latin America, AsiaPac and Northern Europe, aged 16+. The consumers were from seven countries: Brazil, Argentina, China, Hong Kong, India, Poland and Czech Republic.

More info:

• www.criticalpath.net.

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