A quiet revolution being led by young consumers is underway. Both of my young adult children are a part of this revolution. Many of you may be a part of it, as well.
Red Herring reports on a study by the Yankee group that highlights this quiet, but major change:
“The landline is going the way of the glove-box cell phone,” said Yankee Group’s wireless global practice leader Keith Mallinson. “Plenty of people have them for safety or backup but they rarely get used.”
More than 65 percent of the U.S. population owns a cell phone, the Yankee Group estimates. And the average number of cell phone minutes used by U.S. subscribers grew to 754 minutes per month-almost 13 hours-by the second quarter of 2005, Mr. Mallinson added. Much of that time used to be spent on home phones.
Young adults seem to be leading the trend, with more than 30 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds lacking landlines. In the U.S. population overall, the trend is less dramatic, with one in 10 cell phone users without landlines.
This trend away from the old land line phone is amazing to someone who remembers party lines, Ma Bell, and rotary phones. The big telecom companies have been preparing for this trend for years. And as it continues, this trend will create more and more new opportunities for entrepreneurs to exploit. Just look at all of the consumer behaviors tied to land line phone use and find ways to replicate or improve on them for the new mobile phone world.