In 2018, we live in a highly connected world thanks to technological advancements that make it easier to access the Internet than ever before. That’s why in France, there are more than 42 million daily Internet users, half of which access the Internet using multiple devices. Nonetheless, for the French, mobiles are the most commonly used device to surf the web. Overall, data shows that mobiles are used 67% of the time to browse the web while laptops or desktop computers are used only 33% of the time.
Doing What?
The French commonly use their mobiles to access navigation and geolocation apps like Google Maps, Waze, and Mappy garnering a collective audience of more than 50 million users every month. Online messaging platforms like Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp also serve more than 45 million monthly users. Music streaming platforms like Spotify, Deezer, and more also popular seeing a collective audience of more than 20 million French users each month.
Despite what is being accessed, how are the French accessing online platforms on their mobiles? The answer is mobile applications more so than websites. When the French use their smartphones to access the Internet, they do so via apps 87% of the time. The other 13% is done using their mobile web browser like Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc.
Amongst the apps used to access the web, 24% of the apps are used to connect this population to blogs and social media sites. Another 16% of these apps are used to play videos while 13% of them are used to connect to video and cinema apps or platforms. The remaining 47% of the time is divided into a variety of other apps.
When it comes to the most popular apps in France, the data shows the domination of GAFA. In France, the ten most popular or downloaded apps are all owned by Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. As a group, GAFA receives 36% of all of the Internet traffic in France. They also represent 80% of the French online ad market reserving as popular host for digital advertisements.
M-Commerce
While m-commerce is not as popular in France as in other European countries, it does represent an important activity. Nonetheless, 70% of customers consult their mobiles while shopping in stores. This is done to compare prices, check the availability of products, read product reviews, and more.
Market Diversification
The smartphone industry, just like other industries in the past, is witnesing greater diversity thanks to the rise of new manufacturers. In France, 73 percent of the population owns a smartphone. Amongst this population of more 48 million people, a variety of devices are used ranging from brands, models, operating systems, and more.
In terms of OS, Android dominates the French market possessing more than 60% of the French market. Apple comes in at second with about 38% of the market. The remaining market share is split between Windows, BlackBerry, and others. When it comes to vendors or brands, Apple holds 38.3% of market, Samsung comes in at second with 36.6% of the French market, Huawei comes in at third with 8.4% of the market, Sony Ericsson 2.5%, and the rest is held by a variety of other vendors.
So what’s at stake?
Cinderella did not meet Prince Charming simply because she was at the ball. She met Prince Charming because she was the most beautiful woman at the ball.
For businesses looking to expand, it is not enough to just have a website or an app where potential customers can find you online. Instead, it is necessary to have well performing website and/or app that works well across a variety of mobile devices and operating systems. If not, millions of potential customers may have trouble accessing your site and/or app.
Websites and apps also need to be ergonomic to allow visitors to effortlessly and efficiently navigate your platforms regardless of what you are selling. Websites and apps that are difficult to use are quickly abandoned in search of a better one. In fact, 60% of people leave sites and apps after experiencing a poor user experience. This does result in lost opportunities for any business to grow and expand. It can also spoil a company’s brand image, which is always harder to repair than maintain.
To ensure any website or app is functioning perfectly across various devices, quality assurance testing is essential in order to uncover bugs that can hinder performance, function, the user experience, and more. If not, you run the risk of allowing these bugs to cripple not only your apps or website, but your business opportunities as well. Contact StarDust today, to learn more about QA testing.
