TORONTO – Canadians are increasingly turning to smart phones and laptops as they are now doing “more of everything online,” says new data from Solutions Research Group, Toronto.
Dubbed Digital Life Canada, the company’s latest research is a re-naming of its five-year-old Fast Forward brand. The change was made to better reflect the content of the tracking studies and market needs, says SRG.
This quarter’s databook is based on 1,000 interviews conducted in late March with online Canadians and reveals, among many other things, the global recession continues to redefine consumer behavior.
Good news for ISPs is that whatever the economic outlook, broadband is now akin to power and water. We can’t live without it.
“After a sharp decline in Q4 2008, (overall) consumer momentum seems to have stabilized but while 48% of Canadians report some direct impact from the recession, 74% have already changed their spending patterns,” reads the report. “Those who made major cutbacks made them across the board and are focusing spending on needs rather than wants. ‘Going out’ is affected and there is a shift toward ‘on sale’ items.”
Consumers say they are more conscious of how they spend, and even as things improve, they have permanently set a higher bar on the “value for money” equation.
“Consistent with our past research, home Internet is like water and electricity, with the lowest ‘volatility score’ of any category we measured – but things like DVD purchases, magazines and video game purchases are more volatile,” says the report. “Our volatility index measures the proportion of customers who either made some cutbacks or thinking about cuts among those who are spending in a given category. Home services like phone, Internet and cable are much less volatile generally compared to categories like DVD purchases.”
DLC’s Q1 results also show that Canada’s mobile future has taken root as laptops surpassed the 50% mark for online Canadians and smartphones break the 20% mark for wireless subs. When a consumer replaces an old computer, the chances are that replacement is now a laptop, given favorable pricing and the sheer convenience of laptops with wireless Internet. And, increased competition in the smartphone category and iPhone’s visibility are helping drive smartphone adoption beyond the business world, it finds.
When it comes to the impending new wireless players in Canada – awareness is low but there is interest in taking a look at them. Only 24% have heard, seen or read anything about new companies offering wireless services in Canada but when asked if they are interested in exploring alternatives to their current provider, 32% say they are very interested and another 40% somewhat interested. “Recession economics clearly will help the new entrants in terms of consumer consideration and attention, if not full out switching,” says the research.
Media consumption habits have forever changed, too. Canadians are more likely to be online than watching a morning news program when they get up in the morning, for example. “(T)wo-in-three are online – messaging, social networking – as broadband and social media become routine,” says the research.
“Canadian consumers are doing more of everything online – online video and social media trendlines are up, so are content downloads and online shopping. And there is even a slight bump in use of adult entertainment sites in the past few years – some 23% of those 18 and older say they visited an ‘adult entertainment’ web site in the past month, up from 20% in late 2006.”
Over half (58%) told the report’s authors that the way they watch TV is different now than five years ago. Consumers talk about high definition screens, PVRs and online as the major change drivers. “Many also talk about how they now watch with their laptops. And more often than not, a major change in the way a consumer watches TV is due to a change in lifestage, for example, getting married or having children,” reads the report.
When it comes to brands, HBO Canada is well received and satisfaction with premium movie channels is up – but category penetration is not increasing. “Natural increase in the number of digital cable and DTH subscribers has been driving the premium TV category (TMN, MovieCentral). However, category penetration is actually not increasing and is stuck in the 50% range (i.e., one in two digital cable/DBS subscribers have a subscription) for the past several quarters,” write the authors.
And, as consumer options for video delivery increase, DLC shows a decline in the value perceptions of DVD products, which impacts the momentum of sales and rentals. “Our overall momentum measure for this category is now (-8) compared to (+5) two years ago. The categories showing stability appear to be children’s, TV shows, and Blu-ray,” reads the research.
This is just a selection of the report’s highlights this quarter. For more, go to www.srgnet.com.
