As we have noted several times before, consumer use of their mobile devices has been growing rapidly (for example, see 1, 2). Yet, their use of smartphones to access content varies greatly by product category.

According to a new study from eMarketer:

• People spend 60 percent of their time accessing content about telecoms through their smartphones, 36 percent of their time through PCs, and 4 percent of their time through tablets.

• In contrast, people spend 20 percent of their time accessing content about autos through their smartphones, 74 percent of their time through PCs, and 5 percent of their time through tablets. (small rounding error).

Thus, auto dealers have great untapped potential with mobile phones:

“Auto retailing today is structured to serve the industry rather than the consumer. But disruptive business forces, technological changes in the product and a newly smartphone-empowered consumer will upend the dealership model. Mobile remains an area of distinct opportunity for dealer innovation, especially as consumers have yet to fully integrate smartphones and tablets into the buying process. Any player in the automotive space that can reduce friction in the buying process stands to make significant headway with reluctant shoppers.”