Per day, Sri Lankans use 35MB data; look at their phones 26 times

On an average day, Sri Lankans use 35MB of data, while also looking at the screen of their mobile phones 26 times, according to a recent statement by local mobile marketer zMessenger.

Further, the statement also noted that, "( on) a global scale, 62 per cent of smart phone users expect mobile friendly websites from companies and 42 per cent expect to find a mobile app from a company. This gives an indication of how rapidly digital techology can change customer attitudes and behavior".

Additionally, the statement also revealed that there was around 80 per cent year-on-year growth with regard to the sale of smart phones domestically, between 2012 and 2013, and smart phone sales in Sri Lanka were close to 2 million today. This was also compared to current statistics which indicated that there were "1.75 billion smart phone users in the world and the next billion is likely to browse the web on mobile devices. The next big transformation mobile phones are likely to undergo is in becoming a fully integrated solutions provider".

The statement also made reference to several comments made at zMessenger's recently concluded mobile marketing roundtable, which was themed "Embracing Mobile Mind Shift – Mobile Moments are the Frontline of Customer Experience", and featured the participation of Siddharth Banerjee, Country Marketing Director at Unilever Sri Lanka, Tharanga Gunasekera, Head of Marketing and Communications at HSBC Sri Lanka, Mangala Wickramasinghe, Head of eBanking Services at HNB, and Dharshan Munidasa, CoFounder of the Ministry of Crab and Kaema Sutra restaurants.

"Smart phones that have successfully eclipsed desktops also carry the potential to facilitate full banking services in the near future, limiting bank branches to mere marketing outlets", stated Mr. Wickramasinghe, quoted in the statement.

"In developing markets, the mobile phone is the first gateway to the Internet. The growth of smart phone ownership in Sri Lanka shows that the infrastructure is already there, what is needed is for businesses to create better customer engagement via mobiles. I’m shopping for ideas that could wow a nation where mobile phones can be used to give customers the best brand experience or to get a customer participate in a big event with the press of a button on the mobile phone", commented Mr. Banerjee, also quoted in the statement.