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Kiwis are lagging well behind Australians in using their mobile phones to access the internet, according to a global study of online consumer behaviour by market research company TNS.

Digital Life surveyed 72,000 people in 60 countries, including 1000 New Zealanders.

It found 26 per cent of Kiwis had used their mobile to go online in the past month, compared with 37 per cent of Australians and 36 per cent of people internationally.

A lot of digital marketing content was developed in Australia and rolled out here on the assumption that behaviours were similar, TNS New Zealand managing director Jason Shoebridge said. "We would say there are differences, [and] these need to be taken account of."

Kiwis also used their mobiles for shopping far less than other nationalities. Just 10 per cent said they had used their phone to make an internet purchase, compared with 22 per cent globally.

New Zealand businesses needed to take lessons learned from online marketing to the emerging mobile space, he said. "Brands shouldn't be building smartphone apps just for the sake of it. They need to deliver real value to users."

Another key finding of the survey was that many businesses are probably wasting time and money trying to connect with people online, when more than half of Kiwis resent their digital space being invaded.

Digital Life found 54 per cent do not want to engage with brands via social media. The figure was similar to the global average of 53 per cent.

The push for companies to engage with their customers on social media sites had created a huge volume of "digital waste" which was making it increasingly difficult for anyone to be heard, Shoebridge said.

Two-thirds of New Zealanders said they had joined an online brand community to take advantage of a promotion or special offer. With this behaviour there was a risk of the internet turning into a channel just for offering discounts, he said. Marketers needed to give consumers other reasons to connect.

Source: stuff.co.nz