Millennials may be getting bad press for lagging in real estate and financial investments, but they’re well invested in tech devices. Millennials use the largest number of connected devices per capita, including more than the next-younger generation – GenZ. PCs are the major device for all generations, while tablets have tumbled in usage among younger adults.
Continue reading “Generational wealth – in tech devices [TUPdate]”Watching the watches – smartwatches and fitness bands [TUPdate]
Smartwatch and fitness band penetration tapers to 2016 levels
The race for the wrist has settled into a larger-than-niche and less-than-majority position. Over the last three years, the share of online Americans using at least one smartwatch has grown from one in six to one in five, only to settle back to the one in six level. This is based on TUP/Technology User Profile 2019 survey of 8,060 online adults in the US, and from the prior three annual waves.
Worse yet for both fitness bands and smartwatches – it’s not as if each are cannibalizing the other. Use of either type of device is also down, dropping from a high of 33% in 2016 to 27% in 2019.
The market has tapered even while smartwatch makers continue to add capabilities well beyond timekeeping and step-counting. Also, it’s happening even as watch-wearers begin to actively use the new capabilities – broadening their use of smartwatches to more activities. Some of the top smartwatch activities include seeing who’s calling before taking a call through or on their smartwatch, recording their heart rates, checking current weather, or using their smartwatch in a store to check products or prices. Convenience is at hand.
Younger adults embrace wearables more than older Americans
Younger Americans have adopted Smart watches and other wearables more strongly than older Americans. Just over half of online Americans age 18 to 34 use at least one Bluetooth headset, smartwatch, or fitness band. In stark contrast, just less than one in five (19%) online Americans age 65 or higher use any of these wearables. Among this set, fitness bands have the highest penetration, on the wrists of one in nine (11%).
Hearables are an important category to track. In addition to sales by watchmakers, beneficiaries include digital media services (specifically music), cellular carriers, and the full ecosystem of e-wallet payments and retailers.
Alone Americans – Overlooked Technology Users? [TUPdate]
Sometimes the slow-moving trends are the ones that get missed. Coupled with preconceived notions, these have the makings of blind spots. For many tech companies, single-person American households may be an overlooked market segment.
Based on research by the U.S. Census and our TUP/Technology User Profile service, 1-person American households are a sizable and growing segment with more to them than may be apparent at first. Also, they are not created equally, especially in which technology products and services they actively use.
Tech marketers often advertise with images of bustling families juggling their lives and devices. Soccer moms abound. This perpetuates a myth that’s leaving many out in the less connected and underserved cold. Furthermore, many companies from Amazon to Spotify and T-Mobile have created family plans that financially favor multi-person households, making their offerings less attractive to the many 1-person households.
While it makes sense for any marketers to focus on the biggest-seeming opportunities, and families are big tech consumers, sometimes this is done out of habit or custom, which may mean missing opportunities.
The number of single-person households has grown in share and number
The US Census reports that single-person households make up 28% of households in 2018, up substantially up from 13% in 1960. Similarly, the number of households has also grown, at 35.7 million in 2018, up from 6.9 million in 1960. Whether through preference or necessity, 1-person households are a substantial slice of the American market. Most forecasts indicate the share remaining stable for years to come.
On First Glance, 1-Person Households Seem Tech Avoidant
When it comes to the devices Americans in 1-person households use, our TUP/Technology User Profile service shows that as a group, they’re behind the curve. American 1-person households appear to be languishing in technology’s past. They are 27% more likely than the average online American adult to still be using a home PC using Windows 7, the Microsoft operating systems nearing its end of life. The replacement for Windows Vista officially came off Microsoft’s mainstream support four years ago – in January 2015. Extended support has been available, yet that support is scheduled to be discontinued in less than one year, by January 2020. Also, 1-person households are well above average (22% higher than average) in their use of a home-owned basic feature phone.
In contrast, American households where children are present have well above-average rates of using many key devices – Windows tablets, game consoles, and Apple Notebooks. This simple view may clarify why some companies prefer to simply tailor their products and services to larger households and avoid smaller ones.
However, looking more deeply into 1-person households, there’s more than household size and core technology that reveals their differences.
A Deeper Look – Young and Old Singles
Within 1-person households, there’s a striking difference between younger and older adults in the profile of their technology usage. The highest usage index for Windows 7 home PCs is among older (age 35+) singles, at 48% higher than the national average. Similarly, there’s an index of 131 for use of a home-owned basic feature phone.
In stark contrast, among younger 1-person households, usage is strongly higher for many key technology devices: game consoles, Apple iPhones, Apple PCs (Macs), Apple notebooks, and Windows tablets.
However, age alone does not adequately describe 1-person households and their technology usage, nor does combining age and household size. There are yet other factors.
Size, Age, and Employment Status
Drilling down into the TUP/Technology User Profile results even more deeply, the combination of household size, age group, and employment status shows even stronger differences.
Have a job – part-time or full-time or even self-employed – and be younger than 40, and you’ll be among the highest technology adopters among 1-person households.
They are above average in using a Windows or Android Tablet, an Apple PC, iPhone, and game console.
The lowest technology adopters are those not employed outside the household and in 1-person households, both younger and older. These have the highest relative levels of using Windows 7 home PCs and home basic cell phones.
Family Plans Aren’t Only Used by Families
Interestingly, even while family/multi-person plans are ostensibly targeted at larger households, a substantial number of 1-person households are using them.
Nearly one-fourth (24%) of 1-person households have a smartphone plan with 2 or more lines. Similarly, “family” paid media subscriptions such as for music or TV are being used by 18% of America adults in 1-person households.
Looking ahead
Shifts in population may seem glacial especially by those in technology industries who are accustomed to frequent shifts. People change their living situations less quickly than they change their adoption of technology. Consequently, technology companies would be better served, as would 1-person households, to the extent these users are included in their offerings.
About this TUPdate
The analysis in this TUPdate is based on results drawn from the 2018 wave of TUP (Technology User Profile), 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.
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.
Favorite Device Combinations – Flexibility and Juggling [TUPdate]
Users vote with their fingers, demonstrating what they like by what they actually use. The top combination includes four devices – a desktop, notebook, tablet, or smartphone – and actively used by one in six (16%) of online adults in the US.
This is based on the three most recent waves of Technology User Profile (TUP), the 2016 through 2018 waves. These were based on 7,336, 7,521, and 7,886 US online adult representative responses, respectively.
The top four combinations are used by over half (52%) of online Americans. All of the top combinations include a smartphone, three include a desktop, and two include a tablet. These major combinations have remained the most widely used for the last three years, representing the choice of around half of online Americans for the last three years.
Elders come on board
The average age of those using tablets or PCs without smartphones has dropped in the last year. Between 2017 and 2018, the average age of those using only a tablet – and no PC or smartphone – has dropped from 50.4 years old to 45.5. Similarly, those using a desktop and tablet and no smartphone has dropped from 53.8 years to 49.4. Those using 4 types of devices – a desktop, notebook, tablet, and smartphone, average 41.4 years old, in stark contrast to those using only a desktop, at 56 years old.
Looking ahead
Despite much media attention on this device or another “taking over the world”, most American users continue to juggle multiple devices.
Although innovative crossover products continue to make splashes and inroads, from foldable phones to all-in-one and convertibles, the majority of users persist in finding ways to stay productive and entertained with their varied types of devices. It seems users are currently more flexible than their devices.
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.
Streaming Subscriptions – the Age Cliff for Music [TUPdate]
Streaming subscriptions are popular, with 69% of online adults actively using at least one type of free or paid digital media subscription. Penetration is highest among younger than older American adults. Nearly nine in ten online adults in the US aged 18-34 use a digital media subscription. This is based on results from the 2018 wave of MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile, based on 7,886 respondents in the US, and 12,680 respondents across the US, UK, Germany, and India.
The majority of subscribers have a paid subscription – 85% of all online adults. Only a small percentage of users limit themselves to only free subscriptions, and that’s true across all age groups.
Paid streaming music has a lower overall penetration at 28% of online adults. There is a usage cliff after age 44, with penetration being much stronger among younger than older adults. Less than one in five adults age 45 to 54 use a paid media music subscription, and that rate is even lower among the age 55-64 (12%), and 65 or older (8% of online males and 6% of online females).
For streaming video, NetFlix is the long-established leader with the highest penetration. While adoption of the 1-screen plan is stronger than the 2-screen or 4-screen plan in the US and India, in the UK and Germany each plan has comparable use. Amazon’s Prime Video offering, although relatively more recent, has reached half the share of NetFlix in the US and UK, two-thirds in India, and near-parity in Germany.
Family plans have gained widespread use. Nearly half of US online household with 4 or more persons are actively using a paid family streaming plan from one of the major services: NetFlix, Apple, Spotify, or Deezer.
Comparing over-the-top (OTT) digital media subscriptions to traditional TV subscriptions, in the US, UK, and India, active OTT use surpasses the use of cable, satellite, or phone cable TV subscriptions. DVD rental, while diminished, is still a regular practice among nearly a fifth of online Americans, and 10% of online adults in India.
Looking ahead
When it comes to fun, art, and entertainment, there’s room for many outlets. Although many creators work hard to exclusively own, control and entice viewers and listeners, consumers are free to change their minds and they often do.
Consequently, I expect the majority of consumers to continue expanding their subscriptions, both in the number they use and the range of type of media they subscribe to. However, as content providers continue to jockey for position, joining and then leaving various services, consumers will continue to churn between services. Similarly, as existing providers continue to experiment with varied packages – from family and student to single and multi-screen – consumers will join in the experiments, with many switching and swapping between services. In other words, for years to come I expect two opposing forces. Consumers will pay for more than they use, primarily for the convenience of enjoyment when they want it. Also, consumers will continue with their subscriptions through inertia and confusion, without remembering which content is enabled through which subscription.
Although subscription fatigue may be growing in awareness, habit consumption will prevail over a reasoned review of subscriptions.
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.
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.
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