Global Consumer Technology Trends: Cross Market Briefing April 014
Introduction Consumer electronics (CE) and technologies are popular with consumers across the globe. Fueled by infrastructure and the proliferation of mobile connected devices (especially smartphones and tablets), people around the world are more connected than ever. As such, increased connectivity has significant implications for policymakers, businesses and citizens alike. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) recently conducted consumer research in 1 markets on four continents representing approximately 9% of the world s population (approximately.1 billion people) and 49% of the world s GDP (approximately $5.4 trillion) to understand both current trends and the future outlook of consumer technologies. The survey was conducted online and all results are based on online adult consumers. access varies by nation and is often driven by a nation s wealth and infrastructure development. Household penetration is highest (in the 90% range) in several Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) and in the U.K. (85%) and Finland (84%). However, less than half of Russian (46%) and Chinese (%) households have access, likely due to poor infrastructure and lower household incomes. Figure 1: Household Access Technology Propensity The propensity for technology adoption ranges from innovators (who buy new technology as soon as it is available) to laggards (who typically purchase new technology only after traditional alternatives are no longer available). Based on self-identified characteristics, we find approximately two in five (40%) online Chinese adults and three in ten (%) online Russian adults are either innovators or early adopters, likely due to those online being more predisposed to technology and more affluent. Innovators and early adopters typically propel technology adoption in the greater market given their likelihood to acquire and try a new technology. In contrast among populations where a majority of citizens are online, less than one in five online Israelis (1%), Danes (15%), Czechs (15%), Finns (16%), French (17%) or Norwegians (18%) can be classified as innovators or early adopters. Based on responses to key technology adoption and social networking questions, we can also ascertain the size of the tech influencer population and compare across markets. Influencers are a population subset that tend to be, engaged with the technology industry, authoritative and opinionated. As such, people tend to listen to influencers when discussing technology. We find only one in ten (10%) online Chinese adults can be classified as influencers, the lowest percentage of any market surveyed, but on par with online Russians (1%). This is likely driven by smaller online populations in both countries. Figure : Technology Adoption Source: Global Consumer Technology Trends (01) Q: Which of the following BEST describes your technology purchasing habits?
Technology Owned and Used The television is the most frequently owned and used technology product in every market CEA surveyed, ranging from 98% of online Spaniards (the highest of any market surveyed) to 86% of online Israelis (the lowest). The other top five technology products owned and used in every surveyed market include portable s (laptops, notebooks or netbooks) and digital s. While tablets are not in the top five list of technologies owned and/or used, we find a strong presence in many markets. For example, two in five online Chinese households report they use and/or own tablet (41%) as do Britons (4%), Israelis (46%), Danes (44%) and Americans (41%). Other markets have lower incidence of tablet ownership with roughly three in ten online French (4%) and one in four online Czechs and Finns (6%) reporting tablet ownership/use. Figure : Top 5 Technology Devices Used/Owned Rank 1 TV (95%) TV (97%) TV (96%) TV (86%) TV (98%) TV (95%) TV (9%) (76%) (8%) (8%) (86%) Tied: and smartphone (84% each) (78%) Tied: On-ear and desktop (81% each) Digital (69%) Tied: Digital and smartphone (77% each) (78%) (8%) (81%) Cell phone (not smartphone; 80%) 4 (69%) Tied: HDTV and video game console (6% each) Tied: and digital (81% each) Tied: and on-ear (78% each) Tied: On-ear, portable and digital (7% each) (77%) 5 HDTV Video game console (6%) (67%) On-ear MP Player (7%) Cell phone (not smart) 56% Rank Poland Czech Rep. Sweden Norway Denmark Finland 1 TV (95%) TV (95%) TV (96%) TV (96%) TV (96%) TV (94%) 4 5 Tied: On-ear and digital (78% each) MP player (59%) Digital (85%) On-ear (84%) Tied: and cell phone (not smartphone; 8% each) (74%) (87%) (8%) (79%) (91%) Digital (84%) Tied: and on-ear (80% each) MP player (6%) (81%) (78%) Tied: MP player and HDTV (54% each) (84%) (79%) (68%) (58%) Source: Global Consumer Technology Trends (01) Q: Which of the following technology devices do you personally use? QA: Which of the following technology devices do you currently have in your household?
The average number of discrete products varies across markets, with online Spaniards reporting they own or use the most technology products at 9.7, followed by online Norwegians (8.6), Swedes (8.4), Chinese (8.), Israelis (8.) and Britons (8.1). Online Finns report owning and/or using the fewest consumer technologies of any market CEA surveyed, with an average of 6.5 per household. Figure 4:: Average Number of Discrete Products Owned Market Avg. Discrete Product (17 Surveyed) Spain 9.7 Norway 8.6 Sweden 8.4 China 8. Israel 8. U.K. 8.1 Russia 7.9 France 7.7 Denmark 7.6 U.S. 7.5 Czech Republic 7.5 Poland 7.4 Finland 6.5 Source: Global Consumer Technology Trends (01) Q: Which of the following technology devices do you personally use? QA: Which of the following technology devices do you currently have in your household? Technology Purchase Drivers Regardless of nationality, consumers share a host of motivations to purchase technology devices. When asked to rank their top reasons for wanting to purchase technology, online consumers say entertainment, making life, being and making life are top reasons for purchase across markets. Entertainment specifically is among the top three reasons for purchasing technology in 10 out of 1 markets surveyed and ranks as first for eight of the ten markets. In addition, online Czechs and Russians cite assisting with work life as a top purchase driver. Figure 4: Technology Purchase Drivers Rank 1 connected to the more enjoyable To assist in my work life connected to the Rank 1 To help me stay informed connected to the To assist in my work life To help me stay informed connected to the To help me stay informed Source: CEA Global Consumer Technology Trends (01) Q5: In general, what are the top reasons for wanting to purchase consumer electronics devices?
Technology Spending Spending on technology varies and is likely impacted by taxation (such as VAT) and foreign exchange rates. The United States is known for good prices on technology, as well as no VAT and a large domestic market which likely helps drive down prices. Self-reported personal spending is highest among online Swedes ($1,157 USD), Norwegians ($1,067 USD) and Israelis ($1,060 USD). Personal spending is comparatively lower among online Americans ($48 USD) and Czechs ($460 USD). At a household level, online Norwegians ($1,89 USD), Swedes ($1,777 USD) and Israelis ($1,744 USD) report spending the most in the past 1 months. Personal spending on technology is the highest among online adults in these countries as well. Online Russians report a household spending average of $1,15 USD, not far ahead of online Danish households, with an average of $1,70. Average household spending on technology is lower among online American ($761) and Polish ($70) households. Figure 5: Technology Spending Personal $48 Household $761 Personal Household $66 ( 404) $1,00 ( 6) $698 ( 51) $885 ( 650) $1,060 (,740 ILS) $1,744 (6,154 ILS) Source: Global Consumer Technology Trends (01) Q8: Over the past 1 months how much has your household spent on Tech products? Q44: And how much would you say that you have spent personally on consumer electronics products in the past 1 months $60 ( 456) $688 ( 97) $916 (5,559 RMB) $1,49 (7,57 RMB) $65 (,00 PLN) $70 (,41 PLN) $460 (9,96 CZK) $844 (17,051 CZK) $1,067 (6,418 NOK) $1,89 (11,77 NOK) $1,157 (7,40 SEK) $1,777 (11,409 SEK) $767 (4,16 DKK) $1,70 (6,877 DKK) $715 ( 519) $1,077 ( 78) $781 (7,165 RB) $1,15 (45,79 RB) Use On average, online adults in the 1 surveyed markets spend approximately.8 hours per day on the. Online Russians spend the most time online per day (4.0 hours), followed by online Chinese adults (.9 hours). This likely stems from a smaller online household population which might be more tech savvy and spend more time online. In contrast, online Swedes spend fewer hours per day online (.4 hours), as do online French adults (.5 hours), Norwegians (.6 hours), Danes (.6 hours) and Finns (.6 hours). Figure 6; Average Time Spent on the (Hours per Day) Average time spent on per day (hours).4.1.5..1.9 4.0 Average time spent on per day (hours) Source: CEA Global Consumer Technology Trends (01) Q17: How much time do you spend per day on the? This includes browsing, email and any other based activities...0.6.4.6.6
Connecting to the s (laptops, netbooks and notebooks) are the most frequently used devices to access the in most markets. s and desktops are also among the top three devices used to access the in most markets. Only in Denmark and Norway are tablets on the top three list of devices used to access the. In fact, Denmark has the highest household ownership/use of tablets with 44% of online adults reporting the presence of a tablet in their household. Figure 7:Connecting to the (6%) (54%) (44%) Source: CEA Global Consumer Technology Trends (01) Q18: Which of the following technology devices do you connect to the? Summary (68%) (58%) (40%) (6%) (51%) (47%) (69%) (6%) (56%) (6%) (58%) (51%) (67%) (49%) (%) (68%) (57%) (%) (75%) Tablet (6%) (45%) (67%) (6%) Tablet (%) (71%) (51%) (44%) (%) Consumer technologies are already extremely popular around the world. Driven by consumer enthusiasm and increasing access, we expect both household ownership and use of consumer technologies to grow even further. The television enjoys near universal household penetration, but key products such as smartphones and portable s (laptop, netbook and notebook) are a testimony to the increasing consumer demands for connectivity. We find tablets hold a healthy household use/penetration in many markets, further helping to meet consumer connectivity demands. In fact, tablets are in the top three products online consumers use to connect to the in Norway and Denmark, displacing the desktop PC. When asked what drives technology purchases, consumers around the globe cite entertainment, enjoyment, being, assisting with work life and making life as top purchase drivers. Spending on technology varies widely (both household and personal) and is impacted in part by taxation and exchange rates. Spending levels are highest in smaller, high-tax markets and lowest in the U.S. which has lower tax rates and a fiercely competitive market. However, we find higher technology spending (both personal and household) in Israel, Norway and Sweden and lower spending in the Czech Republic and U.S. All told, the global consumer technology market is likely poised for strong future growth.
Methodology The Global Consumer Technology Trends report was designed and formulated by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). It represents the findings of a quantitative study administered via web form to an online national sample of 750 adults in each of the following markets during August 01. United States Sweden Poland Israel United Kingdom Norway Russia France Denmark Czech Republic Spain Finland China CEA employed the services of TNS to design and field the survey to consumers. Participants had the option to complete the survey in their local language. The margin of sampling error at 95% confidence for aggregate results in each market is +/-.6%. Sampling error is larger for subgroups of the data. As with any survey, sampling error is only one source of possible error. While nonsampling error cannot be accurately calculated, precautionary steps were taken in all phases of the survey design, collection and processing of the data to minimize its influence. As is common practice in survey research, the data was weighted to reflect the known demographics of the population under study. As a result, this data can be generalized to the entire online adult population for each market. However, the results of this study do not necessarily represent the overall populations of these markets. Keep in mind that online populations in these markets tend to skew younger, more affluent, and more likely to be an early adopter The bases shown on all charts and tables are weighted bases. All percentages in the text, charts and tables included in this report are also based on weighted data. Note: Throughout this report when the consumer or household is referenced, these terms refer to online consumers or online households. The Consumer Electronics Association is a member of the Marketing Research Association (MRA) and adheres to the MRA s Code of Marketing Research Standards. CEA designed this study in its entirety and is responsible for all content contained in this report. Any questions regarding the study should be directed to CEA Market Research staff at info@ce.org. CEA Members can access country specific analysis briefs at http://members.ce.org and non-members can purchase them at http://store.ce.org About CEA The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $0 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES - The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry services. CEA Market Research CEA is the authoritative source for consumer technology market research. With a rich 75+ year history of market research, CEA's industry knowledge is relied upon by the technology community, financial markets, the media and economists. CEA offers the following types of market research to help CEA, members and professionals within the industry stay on top of trends. Consumer and business-to-business research studies Economic analysis Industry sales and forecasts Statistics on industry shipments 1919 S. Eads St. Arlington, VA 0 Tel: 866-858-1555 or 70-907-7600 Fax: 70-907-7675 Market Research & Library Tel: 70-907-776 Fax: 70-907-7769 info@ce.org Find CEA online at www.ce.org.