China and Korea have the highest percentage of people who interact with businesses daily via mobile devices, says a new study.

Software company FICO’s report reveals China (51 per cent) and Korea (50 per cent) and India (49 per cent) are the countries with the highest percentage of “mobile native” consumers.

France (12 per cent), Japan (15 per cent) and the US (16 per cent) were the countries with the lowest percentage of mobile-native responders.

The study found that businesses are quick to respond in sectors with consumer-generated pressure to interact via mobile channels. This is most apparent in the retail sector, where businesses are engaging with consumers to cultivate brand loyalty and make special offers.

The survey segmented respondents into five categories:

• “Mobile Natives” tend to be technologically savvy. They are typically young (under 34 years old), affluent males who consider themselves early adopters of technology.
• “App Shoppers and Bankers” are frequent app users, but they typically use their devices for the limited purposes of banking or retail shopping.
• “M:webs” have adopted mobile technology but are not accustomed to using mobile apps.
• “Mobile Intenders” plan to do more mobile interactions in the future.
• “Abc-Mobiles” use a mobile phone but don’t typically interact with organisations via mobile devices. This is often due to an unwillingness to share personal data and a low level of trust with online businesses.

“These survey results indicate that businesses have only scratched the surface of what is possible in the mobile channel,” said Tony McGivern, FICO CIO.

“Mobile-based customer service and revenue-generating transactions all seem to be in the nascent stages, particularly in some of the world’s largest economies, such as Japan and the US. Consumers are leading the mobile revolution, and it’s clear the appetite is there for more mobile interaction in the future.”

Respondents said they are most likely to use their mobile devices to interact with retailers, followed by banks, then insurers. Customers of retailers also have the highest expectation of mobile interactions, the survey found.

Among the applications offered by retailers and financial institutions, the most popular type in every one of the 14 countries surveyed is alerts, such as apps that notify consumers of suspicious transactions. More than 72 per cent of respondents described such apps as attractive.