Still don’t think taking a “mobile first” approach to attracting consumers is important for your media operation? Consider this nugget of data taken from Deloitte‘s just-released 2017 Global Mobile Consumer Survey: Close to 264 million Americans use their mobile phones 12 billion times per day.
Smartphone penetration reached 82% overall in 2017. One would be remiss, however, to state that this is the result of Gen Z and Millennials. This growth is from a different generation — one that knows radio more than any other.
Declaring the U.S. a “device-dependent nation,” Deloitte notes that adults aged 18-24 have the highest rate of smartphone penetration, at 93%.
But, the strongest growth in ownership for the past two years is among adults aged 55 and older.
Furthermore, the Deloitte survey finds smartphone usage and growth rates for both devices and apps have matured after years of robust growth. A majority of Americans not only own smartphones but are fairly consistent in the way they use them. Conversely, what is growing is consumer interest in a range of exciting “Internet of Things”-related applications and services.
“Our survey reveals that, even as smartphone use begins to mature, we may be on the precipice of the next generation of mobile, as IoT applications and services capture consumer interest and the global race to 5G takes hold,” said Craig Wigginton, Vice Chairman and telecommunications sector leader at Deloitte & Touche LLP. “It’s an incredibly exciting time for both the mobile ecosystem and consumers as we anticipate this next wave of innovation that will further change the way we live and work across generations.”
DEVICE ETIQUETTE EMERGES
This year saw the emergence of what Deloitte calls “device etiquette”— defined as a collection of usage patterns and habits across all demographics.
The Deloitte survey notes that respondents are relatively consistent when it comes to the number of times they look at their phones each day, including the speed at which they reach for their phones.
- Some 47% of U.S. consumers are making a conscious effort to reduce or limit their smartphone usage, mostly by keeping it out of sight or turning its functions off.
- Overall, the number of times users look at their phones has remained nearly constant for the past three years at approximately 47 times per day—the notable exception being the youngest age group (18-24) who check their phones 86 times a day, up from 82 times in 2016.
- The number of apps consumers download and have installed on devices has increased marginally, to 23, from 22 in 2016.
- Some 89% of consumers looked at their phones within an hour of waking up, a yearly increase of only one percent.
- Similarly, 81% of those surveyed look at their phones an hour before going to sleep, consistent with 2016.
While usage and behaviors are beginning to mature, the report found several bright spots at the industry level. These include:
- Nearly two-thirds of consumers are still replacing their phones every two years, despite the lack of device subsidies.
- Some 63% of consumers have visited a carrier store in the last year, making retail stores an important connection to the mobile consumer. Some 1 in 5 consumers have visited a carrier store in the last month.
- Text messages were again the top service used weekly, by 91% of those surveyed.
- Voice usage is up 9% from 2016, reversing a four-year downward trend, with 86% of respondents saying they make a voice call weekly.
- Mobile device usage grew fastest in the 45+ age group while the millennial demographic was steady, year-over-year. This indicates the older generations may be following the younger, and potentially grandchildren are sharing their experience with grandparents increasingly over their mobile devices.
- While short-form video initially gained popularity amongst mobile consumers, there was a dramatic shift in 2017 to long-form video, with live TV experiencing the greatest increase — nearly doubling year over year to 27% from 14%.
- mPayments continued to gain popularity with 29% of consumers reporting making an in-store mobile payment, up nearly 50% from 2016, and a 50% increase in consumers who now use mPayments on a weekly basis—up to 12% from 8%.
- While overall growth rates for wearables have slowed slightly after two years of double digit growth, the survey notes strong penetration in the 25-34 year-old age group with fitness bands at 35%, smart watches at 30% and virtual reality (VR) headsets at 20%. This indicates the category is becoming mainstream in this often “first to buy” technology demographic.
- Despite VR headsets being considered a niche product so far, overall penetration hit 10%, with nearly half of VR users reporting weekly usage and 15% reporting watching VR content daily.
THE EDGE OVER 4G
For the first time in recent years, this year’s Deloitte survey found 4G has slipped slightly behind Wi-Fi in terms of overall performance.
With 5G commercial deployments potentially expected to begin in earnest in 2018, offering substantially higher data speeds than 4G, the report notes that the interplay between mobile and Wi-Fi could be poised for a substantive shift next year in network preferences back toward mobile.
- Some 67% percent of users say they prefer Wi-Fi over 4G—an increase of 14% from last year.
- Only 14% of consumers reported their 4G connection to be much faster than Wi-Fi at home—a drop of 8%, and those reporting 4G speeds to be a little slower at home rose from 11% to 16%.
- Most consumers ranked cost as the most important attribute of their wireless carrier and plan. However, 1 in 4 consumers chose unlimited data plans indicating that the freedom to use their phones at their leisure is their most important consideration.
- Over half of all consumers believe 5G is important for the future.
CONNECTED CAR CAPTURES CONSUMER INTEREST
Lastly, the Deloitte survey found that the connected car and connected entertainment have surpassed the connected home in terms of near-term consumer interest.
- Interest in connected car features such as navigation, traffic and maintenance rose significantly this year, with interest in connected car entertainment at 24%, up from 16% last year. Interest in predictive maintenance services stands at 41%, up from 30% in 2016.
- Consumers reporting that they did not find any value in connected vehicle functions fell significantly to 14%, down from 32% in 2016.
- Consumers’ willingness to pay for connected car and connected home services is also up across the board, though the largest increase comes from those willing to pay less than $10 a month.
“While traditional mobile services have matured in 2017, the opportunities presented by ‘made for mobile’ content, IoT services, wearables and VR represent a significant value proposition to both industry and consumers,” concluded Wigginton. “Some industry watchers say 2018 is about increasing ‘revenue-per-look.’ Our view is that the industry’s incredible connection with American consumers is about the innovation and value that the mobile ecosystem brings to consumers and that shows every sign of accelerating in the year ahead.”
