Author: Mintel Group Ltd.
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Digital Trends: COVID-19 - Canada - October 2020
Overview
 
What you need to know 
It has now been more than half a year since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic – meaning we have learned a great deal about how Canadians reacted to this once-in-a-lifetime event. While it was predicted early on that the digital industry would play an important role for consumers during the pandemic, the findings of this Report shed more light on exactly how they responded as well as what behaviours are the most likely to remain after the pandemic.

The analysis in this Report looks specifically at how consumers behaved during the first three months of the pandemic. It focuses on the devices they bought and the services they used amid social distancing and business/school closures. This Report also takes a forward-looking approach to gain a clearer picture of how the future of this industry will look; not only in terms of lasting new behaviours but also what to expect if consumers are forced to tighten budgets due to a struggling economy. The digital tech industry has been incredibly valuable to Canadians during this crisis – but now, companies need to understand what comes next by investigating how consumers responded to the pandemic.

Key issues covered in this Report
●	Tech device purchases in the first three months of the pandemic
●	New behaviours resulting from the pandemic and which ones are most likely to remain after it ends
●	The unique opportunities and challenges faced by the digital content industry
●	Tech-related budget cuts that consumers would make if they needed to reduce their spending

This Report was written from August 27-September 25, 2020. Consumer research was fielded June 18-29, 2020.

Definition 
This Report covers tech usage and behaviours among consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fieldwork timing means that these responses relate to the first three months of the pandemic (ie mid-March to the end of June 2020): 

●	Digital tech: a broad term used to refer to consumer electronics and digital services, including but not limited to hardware, software, digital streaming and ecommerce

This report is supplied in accordance with Mintel's terms and conditions.  
© Mintel Group Ltd.