Advertising – MetaFacts' TUP findings

May 22, 2019December 15, 2020

Online Privacy – A Paradoxically Divisive Feature [TUPdate]

Most Americans value their privacy, although many have resigned themselves to having less, while others are taking steps to better safeguard theirs. Are privacy concerns a factor affecting the behavior or everyday Americans? Do attitudes and beliefs around privacy affect technology usage? Do Americans trust some brands more than others? How widely held is a need for online privacy?

To address these questions, we conducted a short survey among online Americans in May 2019 as part of the preparation for TUP/Technology User Profile 2019.

Our research results show that many online Americans are willing to live with inner conflict, finding a balance between their fears and their quest for convenience. Even those feeling strongly are still using systems they distrust.

The Innocent Need Not Worry – Agree?

An idea that’s been mentioned around privacy debates for more than 100 years goes something like: “why do you need privacy if you’ve done nothing wrong?” We asked respondents how strongly they agree or disagree. Their responses reveal a strong split among online Americans – more than any other question we asked in this survey. Nearly half (55%) disagreed or strongly disagreed that “Anyone who has done nothing wrong not worry about their privacy”. A smaller yet substantial number (37%) disagreed. There’s widespread and growing concern about online privacy, along with acceptance that online, nothing is really private.

Worry-Free Innocents are Bigger Tech Adopters

The strength of belief in “nothing to hide” exposes a wide split among online Americans in usage rates of certain technology: namely home security cameras and voice assistants. Among the “Innocent need not worry”, the use of home security cameras (such as from Arlo) are being used at more than three times the rate than among the “Innocent should worry.” There have been many widely reported breaches of cloud-stored images, especially among some of the earliest cloud camera implementations.

The use of or avoidance of voice assistants is also split by attitude, with usage rates being roughly twice as high among the “Innocent need not worry” versus the “Innocent should worry”. As with breached cameras, there have been mainstream reports about voice recordings or listening devices being compromised.

Usage rates of iPhones and Android smartphones is not markedly different between these groups, nor is the use of social networks Nextdoor or Facebook. However, iPad usage is higher among the “Innocent need not worry”.

Facebook Least Trusted

A bigger issue facing Facebook is that of trust, or more accurately, lack of trust. Americans trust Facebook least of all among Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft. Within the last several years, everyday consumers have been alerted to a series of privacy breaches in news reports in mainstream news. Although tech-oriented users have been cognizant of the inherent threats to privacy from their online activities, these concerns have broadened into the general public. Just over one-fourth (27%) of online Americans distrust Facebook while 23% similarly distrust Google, saying they trust them “Not at all” or “To little extent”. And, only slightly more than one-third (36%) say they do trust Facebook, in strong contrast to the majority who report trust of Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft.

Cognitive Dissonance, Denial, or Cluelessness?

There are many in technology and marketing circles who dismiss privacy concerns, pointing out that although many people express concerns, they then paradoxically go ahead to use or buy that which they distrust, despite their awareness and fears. That display of cognitive dissonance is clearest among users of Facebook’s properties. Of those who use Facebook, Instagram or, WhatsApp, only 39% say they trust Facebook. That’s half the trust rate among Apple’s users, where over three-fourths (77%) express trust.

Distrust is also strong among Facebook’s users, with 20% saying they trust Facebook “Not at all” or “To little extent”. Google isn’t much better off, with nearly a quarter (23%) of their users expressing distrust of Google. Apple, on the other hand, has only 8% of its users expressing distrust.

Apple’s Head Start on Perception of Privacy

Within the last year, Apple has increased its marketing around privacy. Apple’s current customers are already more privacy-oriented than the average online American. A higher share describe themselves as being more careful about their privacy than most people, and noting that they’ve been taken advantage of often. This predisposes them to be more receptive to privacy as a reason to choose Apple’s products and services over others.

Looking ahead

As a marketing issue, online privacy is likely to continue getting stronger and more widespread. Most likely the word privacy will be defined and redefined in many different ways by each entity, leading to further market confusion. Apple’s privacy-oriented and aware customers are likely to continue as such, solidifying their reliance on Apple. In contrast, non-Apple customers will be less and less likely to switch to Apple as they’re mollified by promises of privacy from Google, Facebook, and others. The perceptual gap around privacy issues will be further eroded by claims. Meanwhile, as adoption of voice assistant and smart home devices expands, we can expect continued reports of data breaches and privacy failures. Realistically, these privacy events are unlikely to discourage users from using their existing services to any large degree. Convenience, habit, denial, and acceptance (aka resignation) are strong forces among online Americans. In other words, we can expect more of the same.

We’re going to see a rising challenge to offer convenience while truly managing privacy. Makers of products with capabilities that everyday users may associate with privacy risks – such as those with integrated voice assistants or cloud cameras – will need to be aware of the market’s needs for privacy, and likely offer alternate versions without these capabilities. Or, makers of these products will need to offer settings that will assure privacy, such as ways for nontechnical users to confirm sensors such as microphones or cameras are inoperable. Even products that track personal information in ways less obvious to regular consumers – such as tracking multiple factors such as location, device ID (such as MAC address), viewing habits, or other behaviors – will need to address privacy beyond the usual license agreement. I expect we’ll see alternate “privacy” versions of smart home products from wireless speakers to TVs and thermostats that are designed to have limited or no tracking.

At the end of the day, privacy will continue as an important product feature, added to the list of speeds, feeds, and checklists that consumers will use as they choose what they buy or avoid.

About this TUPdate

The analysis in this TUPdate is based on results drawn from the most-recent wave of TUP (Technology User Profile), the 2018 edition which is TUP’s 36th continuous wave. This survey-based study details the use of technology products by a carefully-selected and weighted set of respondents drawn to represent online adults. This specific wave spanned the US, UK, Germany, India, and China. In the TUP survey, we identified the connected devices being actively used, from those acquired with home/personal funds to those that are owned by employers, schools, or others. From these, we selected adults who are using at least one home PC.

Resources
Current TUP subscribers may request the supporting TUP information used for this analysis or for even deeper analysis. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

April 13, 2018December 15, 2020

News and Ad Blocking – A Persistent Challenge [TUPdate]

Keep stopping the ads!

So say a large and growing group of consumers.

There are multiple ways consumers are expressing this, from actively using ad blockers, to moving beyond “freemium” sites and content to those offering an ad-free experience with a paid subscription, or simply reducing their media consumption.

Ad blockers are being used by a substantial share of online adults in the US. Based on our 2017 wave of Technology User Profile throughout the US, 40% of Connected Adults are actively using an Ad Blocking app on at least one of their connected devices.
Ad blockers are being used across a range of user’s connected devices. The highest rate of ad blocking is on PCs, followed by Smartphones, and then Tablets.
The Ad Blocking rate is even higher among the most-active news readers. This rejection doesn’t bode well for ad-supported business models, such as that of many media outlets.

Looking ahead

Digital consumers continue to value an ad-free experience, whether for news, music, or video content. Consumers enjoy convenience and continue to respond to offers marketed as free. Although these hopes and preferences may persist, what matters more than wishes are what consumers do. Action matters more than opinion, just as behavior carries more weight than intention or preference. Seeing that so many consumers, especially such highly-engaged ones, continue to take the extra step to actively block ads continues to send the messages to advertisers as well as news outlets.

Meanwhile, many media outlets have gotten the message and moved their ad-free experiences behind paywalls. Others encourage freemium customers to at least whitelist their publications. To the extent consumers lower their defenses, this may reduce the value consumers place on being ad-free. In turn, this may encourage more consumers to return to being active readers.

Source

This post includes a complimentary brief summary of recent MetaFacts TUP (Technology User Profile) research results. These results are based on results of the MetaFacts Technology User Profile survey, from TUP 2017, its 35th consecutive wave, as well as previous waves. Comparable results are available through TUP fielded in Europe and Asia. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

December 2, 2016October 28, 2020

Footloose and ad-free – a new classic melody?

Digital Music Listening – by Dan Ness
Pleasure or pain? Attraction or avoidance? These are some tradeoffs consumers make as they choose how to use their tech devices and services, and music is a major part.

Consumers love music and have more listening options and platforms than ever. The evolution of digital music listening continues to transform the recording, advertising, and tech industries, and the changes aren’t over. At this point, the net effect is a larger than ever base of active music fans and listeners, and one that is engaged in discovering both the new and old. Many consumers are also being trained that advertising is something they can pay to avoid – whether for their music, TV, or news.

Music streaming services such as Apple Music, Pandora, and Spotify have disrupted influence, control, and the flow of royalties and fees between listeners and artists. At the same time, the total audience had broadened beyond few passionate fans, and younger generations are discovering both classic and new artists. There’s new life in the long tail of older and obscure recorded music.

Accessibility and ease of use has substantially increased the base of music listeners. This has beneficial long-term effects for both the music and tech industries, and perhaps less so for advertising.

Digital music listening is widespread – being a regular activity of three quarters (76%) of connected adults, whether through portable MP3 players, music services, players on Smartphones, PCs, or Tablets, or often across more than one of these.

Half of connected adults listen to music locally downloaded to their PC, Tablet, or Smartphone. A larger number – 57% – listen to music through a free or paid streaming service. Free service users outnumber those paying by 66%. More consumers are signing up for paid services as these services experiment with additional features and family plans. Avoiding advertisements is one reason listeners choose the paid plans. Use of Ad-Blocking software by listeners to streaming music services is 20% to 40% higher than average, with Smartphone ad blocking rates relatively stronger among listeners.

Listening levels varies by device type. Smartphones outnumber PCs and Tablets in the number of active listeners, and has also surpassed portable MP3 players, which are being actively used by 27% of Connected Adults. Al though music-listening apps are simple enough to add to Smartphones, many listeners still prefer a separate device that is tuned to one task – mobile music listening.

Digital music listening is skewed towards younger adults, while a few older adults cling to their turntables to play vinyl albums. Although Millennials (age 18-35) make up 39% of Connected Adults, they are nearly half (49%) of those listening to music on their connected devices, through streaming services, or using digital music players.

Apple’s iTunes and iPod market entry fifteen years ago is still paying dividends for Apple, with Apple notebook users being 22% more likely than average to be listening through a connected device or standalone player, and 30% more likely than average to be using a music service.

Otherwise, music listeners don’t favor one type of connected device over any other for their other non-musical entertainment activities. Fun is big across their collection of Smartphones, Tablets, and PCs. Instead, entertainment is important in all that they use. Music listeners are 32% more likely than average to be using the broadest number of entertainment activities.

Household technology spending is somewhat higher among music listeners. Annual spending for digital music listeners is 11% higher than among average connected adults. However, spending on digital content is much higher than average. Those who use music services spend 40% more than average consumers on digital content such as music and eBooks.

Looking ahead, we expect continued widespread music listening. Consumer habits change slower than their dances between services and platforms. Most future growth will come from within the current base as they spread their usage across their devices and move to paid plans. Less growth will come from first-time listeners. Also, we expect further market disruption for pure music services and advertisers. Social networks will likely seek ways to further leverage their many interconnected users and more deeply integrate music sharing into their services. The growing anti-advertisement sentiment may continue as consumers continue to see value in spending a few nickels to avoid what they see as disturbances to their musical reveries.

About this TUPdate

This TUPdate includes a complimentary brief summary of recent MetaFacts TUP (Technology User Profile) research results. These results are based on the most-recent results of the MetaFacts Technology User Profile 2016 survey, its 34th wave, with 7,334 respondents (US). Trend information is based on prior waves. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

Resources

Current TUP subscribers can tap into any of the following TUP information used for this analysis or for even deeper analysis.

The TUP 2016 Wearables, Hearables, Listening, and Speaking Chapter details music listening devices, services, and activities, wearables and other key analysis points. The TUP 2016 Consumer Electronics Chapter drills down into a comprehensive collection of devices and services in active use.

August 10, 2016October 29, 2020

Facebook to Desktop – Get Smart or Get Blitzed? (TUPdate)

This week, Facebook announced their plans to defeat Ad Blocking software for its members using Desktops.

Users vote with their fingertips and clicks, and may allow themselves to be herded towards Facebook’s more-lucrative Smartphone platform, will tolerate more ads they’ve actively chosen to avoid, will migrate to other Social Networks, or may simply lose interest and wither away.

Is Facebook’s gamble really going to affect much of a market? How many Facebook users still use their desktops? How attractive are these users? There’s more to these users than many people might think.

In our most recently publicly-released research, Technology User Profile 2015, we reported that nearly as many Facebook users primarily use their PCs as their Smartphones for Social Networking. Over 67 million American adults primarily use their PCs for Facebook Social Networking, outnumbering the 63 million who primarily use their Smartphones.

Furthermore, Facebook users who use their Desktop PCs spend more on technology products and service than the average American Connected Adult, 5% more, which is slightly higher than the 4% more than those users preferring Smartphones for Social Networking.

Ad Blocking on PCs among those primarily using PCs for Social Networking is much higher than among those blocking ads on their Smartphones and using Smartphones for Social Networking, at 33% and 13%, respectively. However, that camel’s nose is well under the tent, as users that block ads on any of their devices is nearly on par among Facebook’s PC and Smartphone users. Forty-one percent of Facebook’s users who primarily use a PC use an Ad Blocker on at least one of their devices, only slightly more than the 37% of Facebook’s users who primarily use their Smartphone for Social Networking.

Ad Blocking is a controversial topic among users, the media, and advertisers. As we reported earlier in our TUPdate Look Who’s Using Adblockers , users with ad blocking software are an attractive market segment, spending more on technology than those who don’t.

As part of Facebook’s move, they offer users the option to customize their ad preferences. Although this may encourage users to further control their experience, we expect that convenience-oriented users will choose other options first.

At the end of the day, users make their choices. Without engaged active users, no social network is going to continue. Although many media outlets and advertisers will rally around Facebook or anyone willing to take on ad blocking technology or user’s resistance to advertising, it is a calculated gamble. Facebook may win more advertisers and allies, may alienate a substantial number of their users, or may help bring around consumer sentiment to accept more advertising.

Background

This TUPdate includes a complimentary brief summary from a special MetaFacts Profile report – Look Who’s Using AdBlockers – a Profile of Technology Users throughout the US, UK, France, Brazil, and China. The results are based on a multi-country survey of over 10,000 representative respondents conducted by MetaFacts. The report spans 125 pages including supporting tables, and is available for license. Current TUP subscribers can obtain the report and supporting datasets at a substantial discount. To license the full report, contact MetaFacts.