While many Internet users in the US and other mature markets enjoy the latest gadgets and online media activities, they may not be on the cutting edge—users in emerging countries are quickly taking to advanced Web and consumer electronics activities.


According to the Accenture report “Mobile Takes Center Stage,” US Internet users increased spending on consumer electronics in 2009. Computers and mobile phones remained the top devices owned by respondents, but Web-enabled mobile phone ownership more than tripled between 2007 and 2009. Taken together, mobile phones and Web-enabled smartphones were considered the most important consumer technology product in the US, followed by computers.



In some cases, however, Web users surveyed in emerging countries - China, India, Malaysia and Singapore - were ahead of their counterparts in mature markets - the US, Germany, France and Japan. For example:

- Emerging-market Web users were more than two and one-half times as likely to buy a smartphone during the next year (52%) compared with mature-market respondents (20%), and were also more likely to have bought a smartphone in the past year (67% versus 32%).

- Internet users in emerging markets were twice as likely to have bought a computer in the past year (40% versus 20%).

- Emerging-market respondents tended to spend more money on consumer electronics in 2009 than their mature-market counterparts.

Emerging markets also showed higher levels of Web activities such as photo- and video-sharing, blogging, social networking, microblogging, and watching online and mobile television.



“One of the reasons for this emerging-country growth is the rapid expansion of the middle class with its substantial disposable income,” said Jean-Laurent Poitou, managing director of Accenture’s Electronics & High Tech industry group, in a statement. According to the report, the rise of the middle class in countries such as China and India will help them overtake the growth potential of more mature markets such as the US.