86% of Indians have and use a smartphone

By Y.S.Rana
CHANDIGARH : With the rise of the smartphones, desktop is becoming an obsolete instrument, with only 28 per cent using it for travel booking, second lowest globally, states a study. It further reveals that 95 per cent Indian feel that their smartphone is very or of critical importance to their daily life reveals a study done by the Expedia, one of the world’s largest online travel company. Findings of the study were released on Monday. The survey highlights the maturation level of Indian traveller who is fast moving up the ladder of travel apps and is no longer hooked with conventional modes of bookings.

Commenting on the insights of the survey, Vikram Malhi, MD, Asia, Expedia said,”We decide to conduct this survey to understand the booking behaviour of the neo Indian traveller. The findings clearly suggest an increasing dependency on the mobile platform.” In fact, 75 per cent of Indians who have used their smartphone or tablet to book a hotel stay, the highest of any country, states the study. Besides 68 per cent of Indians say they purchase an international data or roaming plan for their moblie device (s) while travelling away from their home network.The study was conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar which is a globally integrated strategic insight consulting firm.
The study was conducted online from August 25 to September 17 across North America, Europe, South America and Asia Pacific using the Kantar-owned GMI (Global Market Insite) and Lightspeed Research amalgamated group of panels. The study was conducted among 8856 employed adults aged 18 years of age and older across 25 countries.

Detailed findingsw of the study:

*India has the highest number of Smartwatch owners globally, with 18 per cent of them owning/using the device.

*India has the second highest number of google Glass owners (6 per cent) after Sough Korea (8 per cent).

*85 per cent of Indians currently have and use a laptop (4th highest in the world after Denmark (89 per cent), Austria (86 per cent) and Norway (86 per cent).

*86% of Indians have and use a smartphone.

On the other, 95 per cent Indians say that their smartphone is very or of critical importance for them, 90 per cent say it for laptops and 66 per cent see tablets as very or critically important.

Indian ranked 5th in bringing their smartphone with them on leisure trips and 2nd highest in carrying laptops with them on leisure trips (47 per cent) after UAE (48 per cent).