New study by KPMG shows urban consumers in China and Singapore are the world’s biggest adopters of smartphones and tablets.

Among urban Chinese consumers, 78 per cent own or intend to own a smartphone, slightly more than laptops (76 per cent), and 51 per cent say they have or plan to have a tablet computer.

That’s a higher penetration than the US, the UK, Germany or Australia. Overall, 53 per cent of total respondents own or intend to own a smartphone and just over a quarter (26 per cent), a tablet computer.

Moreover, consumers from China, Singapore and Brazil not only prefer to access media content digitally – they are more willing to pay for it. Mobile-centric consumers’ willingness to pay for content may provide invaluable insights to media and tech providers in creating breakthrough revenue models in these markets.

“In emerging, high-growth markets such as China, people are not encumbered with the legacy of PCs and have leap-frogged straight onto portable devices,” observed David Elms, head of media for KPMG in the UK.

“This creates amazing opportunities for tech and media companies, many of which are struggling to devise models that are profitable and which truly sate consumers’ vast needs for information. They need to delve into understanding content much more intimately as it relates to their customers and then, marry the two.”

Urban consumers in China, Singapore and Brazil have the highest receptivity to advertising and accept that it can underwrite the cost of the content they enjoy. Seventy-seven per cent of Chinese consumers are happy to receive online ads in return for lower-priced or free services.

GB