Mobile expectations are high in the world’s largest smartphone market. However, marketers lag behind consumer mobile adoption in China and need to do a better job understanding trends in mobile behavior in order to develop effective mobile strategies. My most recent report, The New Mobile Mind Shift Index: China, introduces Forrester’s new Mobile Mind Shift Index (MMSI) to China.

MMSI is a tool to enable marketing leaders to determine how urgently they should provide mobile services and which features to include. It measures how far an individual has shifted in their approach to mobile across three components:

  • The Mobile Intensity Score determines if it is appropriate to connect with customers. This score, on a scale from zero to 100, indicates how intensely people use interactive mobile devices.
  • The Mobile Expectation Score determines the urgency to create mobile applications. This score, also on a scale from zero to 100, indicates what people expect from companies on their mobile devices.
  • Three Mobile Behavior Scores determine which types of features people are ready for. We calculate three behavioral scores, each on its own scale of zero to 100. The Communicate Score indicates participation in mobile communications behaviors like reading email and texting. The Consume Score measures behaviors like reading news and watching video. The Transact Score tracks behaviors like online buying and service.

Chinese consumers are still going through a mobile intensity transition. Our data shows that online consumers in metro China are in the middle of the pack in terms of Mobile Intensity Scores — even though they have much higher Mobile Expectation Scores than their counterparts in other markets regardless of age, income, or city tier. Therefore, it’s just as urgent, if not more so, for marketers in China to go mobile than their peers in other countries. To understand Chinese consumers’ mobile behaviors and learn how to use the MMSI scores to inform your mobile strategy, please read the full report.