Apparently, the iPhone has been experiencing an increase in demand among lower-income buyers according to a new study by comScore.  Since June 2008, iPhone purchases rose by 48% among those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 per year and by 46% among those earning between $25,000 and $75,000.  Both of those growth rates are about three times the growth rate of the device among higher-income Americans; 43% of iPhone owners earn more than $100,000 per year.  Given that the price tag on this phone is about $200 and phone service is at least $70 per month, it seems that this would be kind of extravagant for those with lower disposable income.  “However, one actually realizes cost savings when the device is used in lieu of multiple digital devices and services, transforming the iPhone from a luxury item to a practical communication and entertainment tool,” says Jen Wu, a comScore senior analyst and author of the report, “All about iPhone“. 

According to the study, the number of people earning between $25,000 and $50,000 accessing news and information via their mobile browser grew by 5% since June compared to the overall market growing by 3%.  It also notes that email usage and mobile music consumption, among the demographic, grew by 7% and 5% respectively.  “These data indicate that lower-income mobile subscribers are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to access the Internet, e-mail and their music collections,” noted Mark Donovan, a ComScore senior analyst.

This report indicates that Smartphones, and the iPhone in particular, are appealing to a new demographic and satisfying demand for a single device for communication and entertainment, even with the downturn in the economy.

How does this affect mobile marketing?  According to Nielsen Mobile, SMS Text Messaging has a US mobile market penetration of 53% while mobile internet is 17%.  This comes as no surprise given that text messaging capabilities are pretty much on every mobile device.  However, according to a study by The Kelsey Group the amount of mobile users who access the internet from their mobile device has increased by 20% since September 2007.  Also noteworthy from the same report, is that one-sixth of mobile users have used “Location Aware” capabilities.  These capabilities permit mobile users to communicate their location to others.  “Location Aware” capabilities will prove to be a great opportunity to help businesses be found by consumers searching for their product or service (wink, wink, nudge, nudge…Local Search).   With the iPhone now being purchased by lower-income users, this shows that consumers want and demand better mobile device capabilities including mobile internet.  Improved mobile internet access means a number of opportunities for marketers to reach consumers everywhere they go.  It should be interesting to see how the mobile market evolves over the next year.