Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Figure 1: Short, medium and longer term impact of COVID-19 on technology hardware and digital services, April 2020
- Consumers and digital trends adjust to impact of COVID-19
- The issues
- COVID-19 impacts day-to-day life in the US
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- Figure 2: COVID-19 lifestyle changes, March 4-6 – April 10-16, 2020
- Hands-on/in-person experience is often a “must have” for purchasing tech products
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- Figure 3: Essential resources for tech purchases (NET) – Across any surveyed products, February 2020
- The opportunities
- Tech’s time to shine
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- Figure 4: Services most accessed using an app, by age, February 2020
- Apps could be a touchpoint for financial services to engage younger women with investing
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- Figure 5: Services most accessed by an app – Financial services, by gender and age, February 2020
- Key trends
- The young and wealthy are willing to spend more for better environmental results
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- : Figure 6: Attitudes toward tech and the environment, by age and household income, February 2020
- Younger consumers find apps more secure than browsers
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- Figure 7: Attitudes toward tech and electronics – App security, by age, February 2020
- What’s next
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The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Trends
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- What you need to know
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- Figure 8: Short, medium and longer term impact of COVID-19 on technology hardware and digital services, April 2020
- Opportunities and threats
- Technology hardware and digital services have longer-term resiliency
- Telecommuters will help to prop up the market
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- Figure 9: Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. Creative, April 2020
- Video conferencing will stick post COVID-19
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- Figure 10: Growth of downloads of video conferencing apps, March 15-21, 2020 vs Q4 2019 weekly average
- Telecoms respond to increasing needs with home internet promotions
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- Figure 11: Estimated acquisition mail volume of US Gigabit Internet Offers, 2018 Q1-2019 Q4
- Streamers push content and promotions to rack up subscribers
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- Figure 12: Projected volume of win back emails by week, November 2018- March 2020
- Impact on the consumer electronics market
- Telecommuting will shift home electronics spending from entertainment to productivity in the mid-term
- Economic uncertainty will increase focus on pricing
- Gaming industry to thrive amidst the lockdown and retain its audience
- Consumer electronics manufacturing completely upended
- How the crisis will affect key consumer segments
- Increased digital usage among 55+
- Impact among younger tech users will be economic
- How a COVID-19 recession will reshape the industry
- Discretionary spending cuts will hit consumer electronics
- Telecoms won’t be able to go back to pricing as usual
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- Figure 13: AT&T Instagram post – “Pledging To Keep You Connected,” March 2020
- Figure 14: Verizon Instagram post – “We’re here. And we’re ready.,” March 2020
- Recession could delay 5G device adoption
- A catalyst for category innovation
- COVID-19: US context
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- COVID-19’s impact on tech is unprecedented, widespread and varied
Market Factors
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- COVID-19 disrupts supply chains for tech industry
- Recession expected due to the outbreak
- Digital communication services more important than ever
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Telecoms address concerns during COVID-19 fallout
- Online services overloaded by higher usage during social distancing
- Streaming services release content early to draw viewers
- Isolated people turn to video conferencing services for social contact
- Retailers see record app downloads
- Hoarding concerns creeping into digital retail
- Tech firms work toward sustainability
- Third-party delivery platforms look to support their restaurant partners
What’s Working
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- Telecoms respond to provide relief for consumers during crisis
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- Figure 15: AT&T Instagram post, March 2020
- Figure 16: Verizon Instagram post, March 2020
- Social distancing leads consumers to depend on tech for socializing
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- Figure 17: #VirtualHappyHour Instagram post, March 2020
- Figure 18: Peloton Tweet, March 2020
- Grocery delivery and big box retailers see record app downloads
- Third-party delivery companies forgo fees for restaurants
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- Figure 19: Uber Eats COVID-19 email, March 2020
- Sustainability initiatives gain prominence within tech operations
What’s Struggling
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- Higher data usage hits unprepared services
- EU urged video streaming services to lower video quality to lessen the strain
- Video game servers crash amidst rush to online gaming
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- Figure 20: #xboxlivedown tweet, March 2020
- Robinhood investing service experiences outages during extremely volatile trading sessions
- Supply concerns have retailers bracing for hoarding behaviors
What to Watch
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- Streaming services launch content earlier than anticipated during social distancing
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- Figure 21: Disney+ Frozen 2 Twitter response, May 2020
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- COVID-19 will shift consumer digital behaviors
- Smartphones and laptops top personal electronics purchase intent
- Online reviews remain a top resource for electronics shoppers
- Younger women are app power users
- More than half of the market relies on apps for three or more services
- Higher-income, younger consumers seek sustainability from their tech
- Multicultural consumers view wearable tech as success symbols
- Younger consumers view apps as a more secure platform
Home Electronics Ownership and Purchase Intent
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- COVID-19 will likely depress purchase intent for various household electronics
- 4K UHD TV ownership holds at around 30%
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- Figure 22: Home electronics ownership and purchase intent, February 2020
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- Figure 23: UHD TV ownership and purchase intent, by UHD owners and non-owners, February 2020
- Opportunity to increase wireless router ownership
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- Figure 24: Router ownership, by household income, February 2020
- Smart speaker ownership continues to grow at a modest rate
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- Figure 25: Smart speaker ownership and purchase intent, August 2019 and February 2020
- Entertainment products should get a boost amidst social distancing
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- Figure 26: Home electronics ownership and purchase intent, by age, February 2020
Personal Electronics Purchase Intent
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- COVID-19 will depress sales of personal electronics
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- Figure 27: Personal electronics purchase intent, February 2020
- Earbuds more popular than headphones in hearables space
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- Figure 28: Personal electronics purchase intent, by age, February 2020
Essential Resources for Tech Purchases
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- Two thirds of consumers found hands-on essential before COVID-19
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- Figure 29: Essential resources for tech purchases, February 2020
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- Figure 30: Essential resources for tech purchases (NET) – Across any surveyed products, February 2020
- In-market shoppers want more resources before buying
- Hearable technology
- Smartphone shoppers
- Laptop shoppers
- UHD TV shoppers
- Smartwatch/activity tracker shoppers
- Tablet shoppers
- Streaming media player shoppers
- Video game console shoppers
- Smart speaker shoppers
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- Figure 31: Essential resources for tech purchases, by in-market shoppers, February 2020
Services Most Accessed Using an App
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- App usage somewhat limited before COVID-19
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- Figure 32: Services most accessed using an app, February 2020
- Millennials and Gen X most likely to use an app as the primary access method for financial services
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- Figure 33: Services most accessed using an app – Financial services, by generation, February 2020
- COVID-19 could change age dependent behaviors
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- Figure 34: Services most accessed using an app, by age, February 2020
- Younger women are more app reliant for apparel and food
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- Figure 35: Services most accessed using an app, by gender and age, February 2020
Repertoire Analysis of Services Most Accessed Using an App
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- Majority of consumers use apps to access three or more services
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- Figure 36: Number of services most accessed by an app, February 2020
- Younger women lead app usage across categories, except investing
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- Figure 37: Number of services most accessed by an app, by gender and age, February 2020
- Figure 38: Services most accessed by an app – Financial services, by gender and age, February 2020
Attitudes toward Technology and the Environment
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- Environmental and sustainability initiatives should increase consideration
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- Figure 39: Attitudes toward tech and the environment, February 2020
- Younger Millennials willing to put their money where their environment is
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- Figure 40: Attitudes toward tech and the environment, by age, February 2020
- Age, along with household income, drives willingness to switch
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- Figure 41: Attitudes toward tech and the environment, by age and household income, February 2020
Attitudes toward Technology and Image
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- Age and income are strongly correlated with tech and image attitudes
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- Figure 42: Attitudes toward tech and electronics – Tech and self-image, by age and household income, February 2020
- Multicultural consumers view wearable tech as status symbols
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- Figure 43: Attitudes toward tech and electronics – Tech and self-image, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2020
- Men more likely to be self-conscious of their smartphone
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- Figure 44: Attitudes toward tech and electronics – Tech and self-image, by gender and age, February 2020
Attitudes toward Apps
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- Apps need to have continuous value for consumers to download them
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- Figure 45: Attitudes toward tech and electronics – Apps, February 2020
- Nearly half of Millennials willing to pay for an app
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- Figure 46: Attitudes toward tech and electronics – Downloading and paying for apps, by generation, February 2020
- Figure 47: CHAID analysis of “I am willing to pay for an app,” February 2020
- App security is an issue – younger consumers have more confidence
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- Figure 48: Attitudes toward tech and electronics – App security, by age, February 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Direct marketing creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
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