Mobile data weighs heavily in European customers' device purchases according to Yankee Group's latest study, as mobile data services continue growing further. 

The study finds European users (from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) use SMS as their main means of communications-- preferring it to traditional voice communications. 

Alongside texting, smartphones will also fuel the rise in the use of instant messaging, video watching and social networking over the next 2 years. 18% of European users already access their social networking via mobile phone daily, Yankee Group says. 

Consistent service performance ranks as the most important factor Europeans consider when gauging network service quality. 

"This shift to a data-centric mobile communications marketplace will create new business models," Yankee continues, saying such increasingly mobile behaviour will lead to "more captivating mobile experiences" from suppliers wanting to, well, supply what the market demands. 

Go Data Dominates Europeans' Mobile Buying Behaviour (Yankee Group)