A new report, “Cross Screen Consumer Behavior Decoded,” a joint project of Millennial Media and comScore, uncovers the roles that age, gender, demographics, and other factors play in influencing the behavior of consumers.

The core of the study analyzes the effect that multi-device access of the Internet has as it continues its rapid growth, with seventy percent of all consumers using both mobile and PC platforms, a seven percent increase over last year. As the number of Internet users continues to increase (now at over 200 million in the U.S.), the number of mobile-only users continues to grow as well, creating a cross-platform landscape, and new opportunities for marketers.

According to the Global Sales and Operations executive vice-president at Millennial Media, Mollie Spillman, “The challenge for marketers is to understand how to communicate effectively with today’s cross-platform customers and uncover the right opportunities to reach … audiences as they move across screens throughout the day.”

The study goes on to examine both the rise in mobile users and the paralleling decline in PC-only users while pointing out that consumers now use a mix of devices for research, entertainment, and purchasing options, with more than half of all digital users relying solely on mobile devices (those items other than desktop PCs).

Within the groups studied, women form the larger mobile only and cross-platform contingent at close to seventy percent. Men, in the two age groups identified (25 to 49 and 50 and older), lean more toward PC-only usage at about fifty percent.

However, the mobile platform does not dominate in all areas; automotive, hospitality, B2B, and travel industries are overwhelming dominated by PC usage, regardless of age or gender. The business and finance sectors, however, see a significant reversal of usage, with those 18 to 24 most likely to be on a mobile-only platform (72%) and those 50+ relying on PCs exclusively (74%).

References:

Essany, Michael. “Cross Screen Users Multiplying at the Speed of Light,” Mobile Marketing Watch. June 04, 2014.

“Cross-Screen Study Reveals 70 Per Cent of Digital Users Access Internet Across Multiple Devices,” millennial media. May 7, 2014.