Mobile Consumer Habits During COVID-19

Deloitte Survey Results

It’s no secret that COVID took the world by complete surprise and affected day to day life in almost every aspect. From work, to social, to school, to entertainment and so much more, people had to deal with isolation and adaptability like never before. One thing that most people can agree on is that the need for technology increased significantly. Today, we will be going over the change in consumer habits, thanks to the never-ending pandemic. 

A survey conducted by Deloitte explains that they conducted a survey, and 68% of their respondents feel they spent too much time on their phones during the lockdown, with the largest being people between the ages of 18 and 24. According to the survey, the main uses for our phones included online/in-store shopping, bank balances and transfers, measuring fitness levels, managing diets, playing music, controlling the television, in-car entertainment, domestic appliances, home security, lighting and adjusting the temperature. 

COVID-19 lockdown had the greatest effect on online entertainment and even continued after the stay at home mandate was lifted. With activities limited by staying at home, the next best thing became streaming movies and television shows. The hours usually spent on out of the house entertainment, restaurants, bars, shows, movie theaters, etc. are now filled with watching movies and television shows at home. However, after the mandate was lifted, 37% of people still chose at-home entertainment, and 29% said they will continue to use their phone for things like reading the news and playing games. 

Due to the increased use of digital products for entertainment, other devices started gaining popularity. 65% of current mobile customers expanded their collection to new devices such as laptops, smartwatches, tablets, game consoles and smart speakers. These new devices have accumulated to be taking up about 75% of the users’ time. Nevertheless, as the pandemic fades, so does the rate of use for these electronic devices, meaning they are transitioning back into leisure devices instead of necessities. 

Another big thing that happened over the pandemic was working from home. Technology also became a vital part of day to day work life. Yes time was saved from not having to commute, however the work efficiency dropped. 44% of respondents said it was more difficult to work at home and blamed it on being distracted by family. I know it sounds hard to believe, because honestly, who didn’t have trouble watching television or checking their phone while they were working from home. 

MarketingDive Survey Results

On the other hand, MarketingDive also performed a survey to conclude that 70% of mobile marketers reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had a few positives for their businesses. Users became a lot more engaged as app downloads in the gaming, shopping, and finance categories reached chart topping numbers. Yes this health crisis had a negative effect on the general economic growth and sent countless brick and mortar businesses into distress, it led to a surge in overall mobile activity. 

Increases in revenue came to about 64% of marketers, and drove 35% of them to ramp up their online marketing budgets to help drive growth. A need to constantly amuse oneself as they sat at home made e-commerce, finance and news apps to lead in retention rates, with the obvious entertainment, gaming and social apps trailing right behind them as well. 

The “New Normal” Habits to Keep

With all that being said, there are a few good habits that we obtained that wouldn’t be a bad thing to carry on after the pandemic settles down. The average time spent on mobile devices grew 13.8% in a year, so we learned a thing or two about how to make things easier on us. From Zoom calls, to music lessons, to doctors appointments, to ordering food, we have developed some pretty awesome habits that could become the “new normal.” 

Online grocery shopping, online banking, contactless payments, video-chat nights and telehealth appointments are only the beginning. All of these new habits have resulted because of being a safer and more convenient option. 

Webs of Influence Analysis

In our book for class, Webs of Influence, it mentions figuring out who is online and why. More and more of us are present online for a growing number of reasons. What used to be your target audience, might not be it anymore, and a business should take the liberty to reevaluate and identify any demographics they might be missing out on. The book goes on to explain figuring out your target audience as a business. When you successfully identify your target audience, the purpose, identity and marketing strategy of it almost present themself.