Digital Trends Quarterly - UK - May 2021
Overview
 
Although 22% of adults have delayed a planned technology purchase as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 8% have made a purchase they would not otherwise have made as a direct result of the pandemic. This has helped to offset the negative impact of the financial uncertainty and supply chain issues that arose as a result of COVID. Some sectors have even benefitted – PCs and wearable technology being two examples.

The the pandemic has seen 80% of technology product buyers make purchases online since the outbreak, but 28% still bought products in-store. This highlights the importance of getting hands-on with devices before purchasing, with 54% of all adults saying they usually only buy a technology product if they have seen or tried it in person first. The conditions are now right to start encouraging people back into shops which should help to release some pent-up demand among those who have delayed purchases because of a lack of in-store access.

With consumers becoming more concerned than ever about issues like the environment and equality, it is becoming more important for technology brands to be taking real action to build their ethical credentials, with under-35s in particular saying they prefer to associate with brands that align with their values. Tech enthusiasts are also most likely to come from that age group. Brands that don’t step up in areas like carbon neutrality and equality in the workforce risk losing a march on competitors that can deliver meaningful results in those areas.

Those who describe themselves as technology enthusiasts are far more likely than average to have moved to working from home most or all of the time as a result of COVID-19, which provides opportunities for technology brands to encourage them to trade up to premium products. 

Key issues covered in this Report
●	The net impact of COVID-19 on technology product purchasing – which products people have bought as a result of the pandemic and which purchases they have delayed because of it.
●	Changes in how people have participated in online activities, including streaming, messaging and fitness, across different devices over the course of 2020.
●	The impact of the shift to home working on people’s technology buying habits, and what opportunities this presents.
●	The growing importance of ethical credentials for technology brands.

COVID-19: Market context
The first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the UK at the end of January 2020, with a small number of cases in February. Rapidly rising case numbers led to the first national lockdown, starting on 23 March. It wasn't until 15 June that non-essential stores were allowed to re-open, followed by pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers on 4 July, and many beauty businesses on 13 July.

By September, it had become clear that the UK was at the start of a second wave, and social distancing measures were intensified. Continued increases in infection numbers led to Wales implementing a two-week national lockdown from 19 October, England announcing a month-long lockdown from 5 November, and Scotland introducing a new five-level system of coronavirus restrictions.

Despite these restrictions, however, case numbers continued to increase. All four UK nations tightened restrictions further in January 2021, effectively leading to a full UK-wide lockdown.

On 22 February, Boris Johnson announced the roadmap to an easing of restrictions in England, starting with the re-opening of schools on 8 March, followed by easing of restrictions on outdoor gatherings on 29 March, and with a hoped end to all restrictions by 21 June. The Welsh and Scottish governments also gave more details on their plans to ease restrictions, with both nations taking a slightly more cautious approach to the one planned for England.

The UK’s vaccination programme started on 8 December 2020, and with the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines licenced for use in the UK, 35 million people had received their first vaccination by early May 2021, and almost 18 million were fully vaccinated.

Economic and other assumptions
Mintel’s economic assumptions are based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s central scenario included in its March 2021 Fiscal Sustainability Report. After the fall of 9.9% over the course of 2020, the scenario suggests that UK GDP will grow by 4% in 2021, and 7.3% in 2022. 

GDP isn’t expected to return to pre-COVID levels until the second quarter of 2022, although this is six months earlier than the OBR forecast in November 2020, mainly because of the faster than expected rollout of vaccines.

Unemployment is expected to peak at 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021. As with GDP, this is more positive than the OBR’s November forecast, but the OBR does raise the prospect of long-term scarring on employment, especially in the more exposed retail and hospitality sectors.

Covered in this Report
This Report covers ownership of and intentions to purchase consumer technology products (eg televisions, laptops, and smartphones) and the activities consumers perform on their laptops/desktops, tablets and smartphones. 

In each quarter, we focus on a different aspect of consumer behaviour. This edition focuses on social and media-related activities including use of social networks and messaging services, online news and video consumption, photo and video sharing and gaming.

Every edition also contains a Special Focus section, where we address a particular aspect of the consumer technology market. This edition’s Special Focus is on purchases of technology products that were either prompted or delayed by COVID-19 and general attitudes towards technology usage and purchasing during the pandemic.