comScore M:Metrics reports that in June 2008, 20.8 million US mobile subscribers and 4.5 million European mobile phone subscribers accessed search during the month, an increase of 68% and 38% from June 2007, respectively. The UK had the highest penetration of mobile subscribers using search at 9.5%, followed closely by the US at 9.2%.
Alistair Hill, analyst at comScore, stated: “It is interesting to note that as we see the number of mobile search users increase, the frequency of activity is also growing. The number of people accessing mobile search at least once a week grew 50% in Europe, with France and Spain leading at a rate of 69% and 63%, respectively. Meanwhile, the number of US users accessing mobile search has more than doubled as a result of expanded 3G penetration and smartphone adoption, as well as the proliferation of flat rate data plans. We have also seen a substantial improvement to the mobile search offerings in the U.S. market.”
Google is the preferred brand for browser-based searches, with a 60% share of mobile searchers in all countries measured by comScore M:Metrics. Yahoo! ranks second in Germany, Italy, UK and the US. In the US, Yahoo!’s mobile searcher penetration is 34.6%, more than double its share in most other countries.