The annual compounded growth rate for smartphone usage in Malaysia has seen a steady incline of 8 million in 2013 to 10 million in 2015 an average of 10% per annum. Vserv, a smart data platform for mobile marketing and commerce, today released the Smartphone User Persona Report (SUPR) 2015 for Malaysia which expects the growth to continue at the same rate this year and is expected to reach 11 million.

According to the report, the boom in the Malaysian smartphone market is primarily being propelled by Malaysians under 30 years old with 64 percent users fall in that age bracket. This scenarios forces marketers to rethink their approach to marketing and communications as they are now reaching out to a generation that is more informed and connected than ever.

Based on a study conducted by Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights, the report segments Malaysian smartphone users into different user personas and provides rich insights into each persona’s app usage, time spent on various apps, data consumption patterns and their demographics.

“Today, it is crucial for marketers to improve the relevance of their messaging and enrich their consumers’ experience. They need to formulate their strategies focusing on user personas and their intent,” explains Pranab Punj, Vice President, Global Marketing, Vserv.

Interesting findings from the report:

• Smartphone users spend an average of 187 minutes per day on their devices
• Six smartphone user personas that emerged:
  1. Data guzzlers – Identified by the highest data consumption, with usage skewed towards browsing and gaming
  2. Dabblers – Lowest engagement with their smartphone and seldom access apps and sites
  3. App junkies – Install the highest number of apps and games at the rate of 11 apps in a month
  4. Power users – Spend the most time on smartphones at 219 minutes a day, predominantly female users with higher than average engagement across multiple app genres
  5. Utilitarians – Utility-driven app usage along with apps for voice calls, news and emails
  6. Social stars (13 percent) – Spend half of their time on social networking and chat apps (almost an hour and a half each day)
• Data Guzzlers spend up to 52 mins a day playing games on the mobile phones
• 17% of the smartphone users who install around 11 apps and games a month are classified as App Junkies
• 16% of the smartphone users who are predominantly females and spend 219 minutes a day on their smartphones are classified as Power Users
• 13% smartphone users who are predominantly females and spend almost an hour and a half each day on social networking, chat & VoIP apps are segmented as Social Stars
• Dabblers and Utilitarians are driven by need and spend the least time on their mobile devices (171 and 177 mins per day)

“We are pleased to partner with Vserv in providing marketers with relevant consumer insights, through our Smartphone User Persona Report. The aim of this report is to enrich marketers with strong understanding of Malaysian smartphone users and how their usage and behaviour are evolving over smartphones. This will eventually support the marketers to sculpt an effective communication strategy. With the rapid proliferation of mobile internet users in Malaysia, we are positive this report will help marketers stay ahead of their game.” said Monjur Elahi, Director of Technology for Nielsen Malaysia.