Consumers moving away from traditional forms of entertainment, media consumption – study

3rd April 2019

By: Tasneem Bulbulia

Senior Contributing Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

PwC’s ‘2019 Global Consumer Insights Survey’ has revealed that consumers are increasingly using digital technology for more than just shopping, with a revolution occurring in how customers access entertainment and media.

For example, 38% of global consumers stream entertainment at least daily and, among Generation Z consumers, cord-cutting for entertainment is at more than 50%.

In South Africa, cord-cutting is also increasingly popular, with 22.9% of consumers streaming movies daily and 23.9% streaming music daily.

The study assessed the behaviour, habits and expectations of over 21 000 online consumers in 27 territories. PwC’s research revealed rapidly changing consumer behaviour in a host of areas other than entertainment and media.

“Not only are consumers the strongest link in the global economic chain, but PwC’s ‘Global Consumer Insights Survey’ shows that the technological tools available to them have put them in a position to demand a tailored, seamless and multichannel shopping and social-media-powered experience,” PwC Africa Retail and Consumer leader Anton Hugo commented in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“Retailers can achieve this by using a blend of both physical and digital approaches. The result for companies will be a greater return on experience with the customer and gaining a competitive advantage.”

When it comes to news, it is notable that 33% of South African consumers, compared with 25% of consumers globally, go to social media first to hear about current events.

“The survey findings are not surprising, given how pervasive social media is today,” Hugo commented.

Social media-placed ads that allow consumers to interact with a brand is now ranked as the third most effective form of advertising globally and, among Millennials, this is the most popular form of advertising – beating out traditional television ads.

In South Africa, consumers still look to traditional television ads as most influential, with social media ads the second-most popular.

The study finds that consumers – bombarded with a multitude of choices – are constantly seeking tools to help simplify their purchasing decisions. In addition to using digital technology, they are looking to their trusted communities and other experts.

PwC’s survey shows that consumers are increasingly willing to engage in nontraditional activities online. This trend is especially noticeable in healthcare, where almost two-thirds of our global sample stated they are willing to access nontraditional health services online.

Nearly 75% own health-related apps (South Africa 57.7%), with exercise/health monitoring being the most popular (South Africa 71%).

Consumers are pushing other boundaries too. Forty-six per cent of consumers surveyed would like to have an autonomous vehicle today or would consider buying one in the future, and an additional 21% would be interested in learning more about the technology.

They are mostly interested in automotive features that eliminate the human element of driving decisions and actions, such as braking, hazard perception and parking assistance.

The findings also confirm that smartphones have become the go-to technology for online shopping, with more than half (51%) of the  global sample of consumers saying they use a smartphone to pay bills and invoices online, and the same percentage transferring money online.

In South Africa, 63.2% of consumers have used digital channels to pay their bills and invoices in the past 12 months, while 67% have transferred money online.

For the first time in the ten years that PwC has conducted this survey, consumers surveyed are using smartphones over other mobile devices to shop online, with 24% of consumers globally (compared with 23.1% in South Africa) using a smartphone to shop online weekly.

In emerging countries, mobile payments in stores are increasing, with Vietnam seeing the biggest increase to 61% in a period of one year, followed by the Middle East (45%).

Globally, there was an overall increase of 24% over the past year. In general, Asian countries are more likely to adopt this behaviour more quickly than western countries.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION