Deloitte’s Global Mobile Consumer Survey, a multi-country study of mobile phone users around the world and led for the first time by Deloitte Luxembourg, has revealed that a mere nine years after the launch of the first full touchscreen smartphone, mobile is everywhere. The fact that 66 percent of Luxembourg mobile users reach for their phones within 30 minutes of waking up illustrates that our phone rarely leaves our side and that it plays a role in many of our daily rituals.

“Our research, which analyzes the mobile usage habits of Luxembourg consumers, reveals that the Luxembourgish population favors smartphones over all other devices. They want to be able to conveniently connect wherever they are, at any time of the day, even when with family,” comments Georges Kioes, Partner and TMT Industry Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg. “Strikingly, almost one third of the users look at their phone more than 50 times per day.”

Luxembourgers love their smartphones...and their operators
The research reveals that smartphone usage is increasingly affecting social behavior. Half of 18-24 year-olds use their devices “always” or “very often” when watching television or on public transportation, and a third while shopping or meeting with friends.

On the contrary, excessive use of smartphones do not seem to have caused arguments with parents, according to 44 percent of 18-24 year olds, with only 12 percent having disagreements at least once a week. Smartphones are truly 24/7 devices, and mindsets have very quickly adapted to these habits.

With the extensive use of smartphones comes the question of quality of service. Georges Kioes continues: “Luxembourgers are globally pleased with the services provided by their operators, as 82 percent of the respondents would recommend their provider to a friend, colleague, or relative. Quality of network is the first reason why consumers choose their operators, equally ranked with the monthly subscription cost at 26 percent. Luxembourgers are surprisingly loyal to their service provider, as 47 percent of them never changed their operator; the average in Europe being 28 percent.”

Smartphones are (not yet) the new banks
According to Deloitte’s research, Luxembourgers are still reluctant to use their mobile phones to pay for products or check their bank balances, compared to Europe.

Petra Hazenberg, Customer and Market Strategy Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg, explains: “Only 37 percent of the interviewed people have performed at least one mobile banking operation in the last three months. This is below the European average of 44 percent. Additionally, only 7 percent of the population has already used their smartphone to make in-store payments. Luxembourgers seem not ready yet to make the switch from their normal banking habits to mobile banking, as 41 percent of them do not see the benefits of this. Furthermore, there seems to be a real concern about security—one third indicated they don’t believe mobile banking is secure enough, so they avoid taking the risk.”