The average Australian owns five different online enabled devices, according to the TNS Connected Life 2015 report.
The findings were presented at the second Talking Shop Engagement Series workshop, held by AMP Capital Shopping Centres and the Australian Fashion Chamber.
TNS Global executive director Alistair Leathwood shared the report, which also revealed other surprising findings.
These included:
· Smartphone penetration in Australia is at 85% – that penetration is highest amongst younger consumers, but even amongst the over 50s, its more than 60%. In addition, the average Australian owns five different online enabled devices. And they use them all.
· Checking your mobile device is the first activity of the day for many – Australians are connected to their mobile devices almost constantly, but peak times are first thing in the morning and in the evening.
· Adoption of fitness-related devices is growing fast – ownership of new smartwatches or fitness bands such as the FitBit has grown fast and shows no sign of slowing down. Expect to see a plethora of brands releasing devices to cater for this market.
· We no longer just consume content – while 97% of people regularly consume content, 96% of people are regularly interacting with content and a further 89% are regularly creating content. However when it comes to brands, consumers are less willing to jump in and be involved – around 50% of consumers consume brand content, while just one third interact with brand content, and only one in ten create brand content.
· Online shopping is not going to kill bricks and mortar stores any time soon – the Connected Life 2015 report revealed that the biggest barriers for consumers to purchase online include: they prefer to be able to touch products (61%); they are unsure of the quality (57%); high delivery costs (52%); they find it easier to buy in-store (51%); they want the product right away (49%); and they don’t believe it’s cheaper (37%).
· Online shopping varies widely by category – the highest levels of online sales come from travel (82%) and music (66%), while the lowest levels come from medicine (6%) and groceries (21%). Mid-point categories include baby care (28%), apparel (32%), consumer electronics (39%) and financial services (49%).