How Consumers use technology and the impact it has on their lives

• The beginning of the internet was known as ARPANET. Developed by the Department of Defence in conjunction with several universities. (Info Please 2018)
• The idea of ARPANET was to allow university based researchers working for the Department of Defence to communicate with colleagues in other cities. (Info Please 2018)
• On the 6th August 1991, the Internet became publicly available for the first time and fundamentally changed the world as we know it. (The Next Web 2018)
• Today the internet is used worldwide for E-Commerce, social media, communication and business.

Access to the internet

• In December 1995, there were reportedly 16 Million internet users worldwide. By December 2000 there were 361 Million people connected to the internet. (Internet World Stats)
• By March 2011, internet users worldwide had surpassed 2 billion users. (Internet World Stats)
• In 2018 it was reported that the number of worldwide internet users passed the 4 Billion mark, with well over half the world’s population now online. (We Are Social 2018)

Changes in internet speeds

• It’s not only internet users that have gone up. Internet speeds have also increased dramatically in a very short period of time.
• In 2011 average global internet connection speeds were 2.1Mbps. (Statista 2018)
• By 2014 that number has risen dramatically to 4.6 Mbps. (Statista 2018)
• By 2017, average global internet connection speeds were 7.2 Mbps. (Statista 2018)
• In 2018, Singapore was ranked 1st in world for the fastest internet speed with an average speed of 60.39Mbps. (UK Business Insider 2018)

Digital devices

• Today, consumers can access the Internet using a wide variety of devices ranging from laptop computers, smartphones and tablets. Smartphone use is on the rise in the UK and has exceeded laptop usage.
• In 2017, 85% of people in the UK were using a smartphone device compared to 78% of people using a laptop. (UK Consultancy 2017)
• Tablet usage is also on the rise with 68% of people using a tablet device in 2017 compared to 63% in 2016. (UK Consultancy 2017)
• Smartphone usage is also on the increase for 55–75 year olds as the graph below shows. In the UK in 2018, 77% of 55–75 year olds now own a smartphone compared to 40% in 2013. (Deloitte 2018)
• The rise in smartphone usage means more consumers now buy online. In 2017 over 40% of online transactions were done on a mobile (Think With Google 2017)

How customers search for information

• 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine (MarTech 2018)
• Google is the leading search engine in the UK when it comes to searching for information online. In October 2018, 92.83% of people used Google compared to 4.22% who used Bing. MSN is one of the lowest used search engines at 0.37%. (Stat Counter 2018)
• Worldwide, Google is still the leading search engine receiving 63,000 searches per second on any given day! (Impact BND 2018)
• In 2018 92.74% of customers worldwide used Google to perform a search. DuckDuckGo was the least used search engine at 0.32%. (Stat Counter 2018)
• Google is the leading search engine in the UK as the graph below shows. (Stat Counter 2018)

What customers buy online

• In 2018 online sales accounted for 17.4% of all retailing, compared with 15.9% in March 2017. (Office for National Statistics, 2018)
• In the last 10 years there has been an increase in the number of people making online purchases in the UK. In 2008 53% purchased online but that number has risen sharply to 78% in 2018. (Statista, 2018)
• Popular online purchase made include electronics and digital media. This includes videos games, music downloads, e-books and phones. Clothes and footwear account for almost one third of online purchases. (Guru Focus, 2017)
• Other popular online retail sectors include; transport and travel services, wellness and beauty, vehicles and stationary/work supplies. (Guru Focus, 2017)
• The number of people making online purchases has risen dramatically in the last 10 years. (Statista 2018)

E-commerce is beating the high street in the United Kingdom, as 51 percent of consumers say they prefer to shop online instead of at physical stores. —

(Ecommerce News, 2018)

Online video consumption

• Online video consumption is on the increase and today it is becoming an integral part of the buying process with brands keen to reach out to consumers using video.
• Global online video consumption grew by 11 minutes a day in 2017. (Zenith Media 2018)
• In 2019, 10.1% of daily media time, and almost 20.0% of daily time spent with digital activities, was devoted to watching digital video (emarketer.com)
• Movies and TV shows are still the most popular digital content. This is closely followed by news and sports (limelight 2019)

Consumer trends

• Over the last 3–5 years, consumers use of technology has increased drastically with speeds increasing and device access becoming easier.
• As internet usage and connectivity increases worldwide, it is now easier than ever to buy products online making it a very tough but lucrative market for all brands.
• There are now more people using social media. In January 2019, there were 3.48 billion social media users. That’s an increase of 288 million (9%) in a year (The Next Web, 2019). In response, brands are now marketing their products and services to social media users using medium such as video.

In summary

• Internet usage is clearly on the rise.
• As well as internet usage, internet speeds are also increasing which in turn is encouraging more people online to make purchases and do business.
• Digital device usage is on the rise particularly smartphone and tablet usage.
• Online video consumption is on the rise amongst consumers and businesses are keen on promoting their brands and products via video.

View my video presentation on YouTube

Video presentation script:

Did you know that there are now over 4 billion internet users across the world? That’s half of the worldwide population now connected to the internet able to purchase products and services and interact with brands.

I’m Josh Marston and today I’d like to talk to you about how consumers use technology and the impact of technology on their lives.

On 6th August 1991 the internet first became publicly available, fundamentally changing the world as we know it. Back then the idea of messaging your nan on social media or purchasing that nice shirt you’ve always wanted was unimaginable but today the internet has come a long way being used for e-commerce, social media, communication and business and today more and more people are connected to the internet than ever before and it’s a constant upward trend.

There are many reasons as to why more people are connected today. Internet speeds have significantly changed even in the last 3–5 years. For example in 2014 the average global internet speed was around 4.6 mbps. Compare that to today’s 60.39 mbps that was recorded in Singapore in 2018! The faster the internet speed, the more accessible it is for people to connect.

Another reason for this sharp increase in internet usage is digital devices. Today consumers can access the internet using a range of digital devices from laptops, tablets to smartphones. The use of smartphones in the UK has increased with 85% of the population using smartphones to connect to the internet compared to 78% using a laptop. The rise in smartphone usage means more consumers now browse and buy online. In 2017 40% of online transactions were done via a smartphone device.

In order to browse and purchase — consumers need to be able to search. 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. Worldwide Google is still the leading search engine receiving 63,000 searches per second on any given day. In 2018, almost 93% of consumers worldwide used Google to perform a search. This is exactly the reason why SEO is super important to any company looking to stand out to consumers.

But what are those consumers buying once they’ve searched for the information? Well overall 78% of people purchased something online in 2018. Today, popular online purchases include electronics and digital media to include video games, music downloads and e-books. Clothes and footwear account for almost one third of online purchases other popular online retail sectors include; transport and travel services, wellness and beauty, vehicles and stationary / work supplies.

With this ever increasing online spend, brands are keen to connect with and reach out to consumers online. Online video consumption is on the increase and today is becoming an integral part of the buying process and brands are keen to to reach their potential customers using the medium of video.

Consumers love video. In 2017 online video consumption grew by 11 minutes PER DAY. In 2019 20% of daily time spent with digital activities was devoted to watching digital video.

In the UK, TV accounts for an average of 3 hours of time an adult spends watching video. Digital video is not far behind with an average of 53 minutes. This is a huge area that brands cannot afford to miss out on and it’s a very engaging way to target your potential customers and draw them in.

In summary, consumers use of technology has increased drastically worldwide with speeds increasing and device access becoming easier. Internet usage and connectivity levels are also increasing worldwide and the amount of people using social media is now bigger than ever with 3.48 billion social media users in January 2019. With all of this taken into account, it’s now easier for consumers to access the internet making purchasing and browsing online a lot more accessible.

This makes it a tough but equally lucrative market for all brands big and small.

Thank you.

View my slideshow presentation on SlideShare

References

INTRODUCTON

Info Please. 2018. The History of The Internet. [Online] Available at: https://www.infoplease.com/history-internet [Accessed 31 Oct 2018]

The Next Web. 2011. 20 years ago today, the World Wide Web opened to the public. [Online] Available at: https://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/08/06/20-years-ago-today-the-world-wide-web-opened-to-the-public/ [Accessed 31 Oct 2018]

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET

Internet World Stats. 2018. Internet Growth Statistics. [Online] Available at: https://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm [Accessed 31 Oct 2018]

We Are Social. 2018. Global Digital Report 2018. [Online]. Available at: https://wearesocial.com/us/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018 [Accessed 31 Oct 2018]

Statista. 2018. Number of internet users worldwide. [Graph]. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/273018/number-of-internet-users-worldwide/ [Accessed 31 Oct 2018]

CHANGES IN INTERNET SPEEDS

Statista. 2018. Average internet connection speed worldwide. [Online]. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/204954/average-internet-connection-speed-worldwide/ [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Statista. 2018. Average internet connection speed worldwide. [Graph]. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/204954/average-internet-connection-speed-worldwide/ [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

UK Business Insider. 2018. The 23 Countries in the world with the fastest internet speeds 2018. [Online]. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-23-countries-in-the-world-with-the-fastest-internet-speeds-2018-7/ [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Statista. 2018. The Countries with the fastest internet speeds. [Graph]. Available at: https://www.statista.com/chart/7246/the-countries-with-the-fastest-internet/ [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

DIGITAL DEVICES

UK Consultancy. 2017. UK Smartphone penetration continues to rise to 85% of adult population. [Online] Available at: https://www.consultancy.uk/news/14113/uk-smartphone-penetration-continues-to-rise-to-85-of-adult-population [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

UK Consultancy. 2017. UK Smartphone penetration continues to rise to 85% of adult population. [Graph] Available at: https://www.consultancy.uk/news/14113/uk-smartphone-penetration-continues-to-rise-to-85-of-adult-population [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Deloitte. 2018. UK Smartphone and tablet penetration among 55–75 year olds. [Graph]. Available at: https://www.deloitte.co.uk/mobileuk/#uk-smartphone-and-tablet-penetration-among-55-75-year-olds [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Think With Google. 2017. Online Mobile Transaction Statistics. [Online]. Available at: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/data/online-mobile-transaction-statistics [Accessed 23 Jan 2019]

Think With Google. 2017. Online Mobile Transaction Statistics. [Graph]. Available at: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/data/online-mobile-transaction-statistics [Accessed 23 Jan 2019]

HOW CUSTOMERS SEARCH FOR INFORMATION

MarTech. 2018. SEO Statistics. [Online]. Available at: https://martech.zone/seo-statistics/ [Accessed 10 nov 2018]

Stat Counter. 2018. Search Engine Market Share (UK usage). [Online]. Available at: http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/all/united-kingdom [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Impact BND. 2018. SEO Statistics. [Online] Available at: https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/seo-statistics [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Stat Counter. 2018. Search Engine Market Share (Worldwide usage). [Online]. Available at: http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Stat Counter. 2018. Search Engine Market Share. [Graph]. Available at: http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/all/united-kingdom [Accessed 10 nov 2018]

WHAT CONSUMERS BUY ONLINE

Office for National Statistics. 2018. Retail sales. [Online] Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/march2018 [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Guru Focus. 2017. UK online shopping and e-commerce statistics. [Online] Available at: https://www.gurufocus.com/news/492058/uk-online-shopping-and-ecommerce-statistics-for-2017 [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

Statista. 2018. Online purchasing penetration in Great Britain. [Graph] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/275968/online-purchasing-penetration-in-great-britain/ [Accessed 10 Nov 2018]

E-Commerce News. 2018. 51% UK consumers prefer to shop online than in store. [Online]. Available at: https://ecommercenews.eu/51-uk-consumers-prefer-to-shop-online-than-in-store [Accessed 23 Jan 2019]

ONLINE VIDEO CONSUMPTION

Zenith Media. 2018. Online video viewing to exceed an hour a day in 2018. [Online]. Available at: https://www.zenithmedia.com/online-video-viewing-to-exceed-an-hour-a-day-in-2018/ [Accessed 23 Jan 2019]

E Marketer. 2018. Digital video UK’s rising star. [Online] Available at: https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Digital-Video-UKs-Rising-Star/1015684 [Accessed 23 Jan 2019]

E Marketer. 2018. Average time spent per day with video by UK adults by device. [Graph]. Available at: https://www.emarketer.com/Chart/Average-Time-Spent-per-Day-with-Video-by-UK-Adults-by-Device-2017-hrsmins/206249 [Accessed 23 Jan 2019]

LimeLight. 2019. State of online video 2019. [Graph]. Available at: https://www.limelight.com/resources/white-paper/state-of-online-video-2019/ [Accessed 14 Apr 2020.]

LimeLight. 2019. State of online video 2019. [Online]. Available at: https://www.limelight.com/resources/white-paper/state-of-online-video-2019/ [Accessed 14 Apr 2020.]

CONSUMER TRENDS

The Next Web. 2019. Digital Trends 2019. [Online]. Available at: https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2019/01/30/digital-trends-2019-every-single-stat-you-need-to-know-about-the-internet/ [Accessed 14 Apr 2020]