Analysis of smartphone ownership and mobile purchases can turn up some interesting anomalies.
For instance, a May, 2014 poll by IDG Global Solutions found that 78 percent of smartphone users in Asia-Pacific had made a mobile commerce purchase, compared with 70 percent in North America.
Though smartphone penetration in Asia-Pacific is relatively low, the share of such users who have made a purchase is high.
“Latin America is another standout by this metric—an outright majority of smartphone users reported making a purchase,” eMarketer explains. “That compares with significantly lower penetration rates across the population of consumers and internet users who make ecommerce purchases at all (including on the desktop).”
Bottom line: Latin America may be behind Eastern and Western Europe, places where smartphone penetration is higher, but it’s commitment to mobile is statistically significant — and an interesting phenomenon to watch in the future.