Digital Lifescapes

The American video entertainment realm has continued to evolve during 2015. Market development in the traditional pay-TV sector has been particularly difficult. However, there are still some significant upside opportunities. Baby Boomers comprise nearly a third of U.S. adult broadband users and are significantly more likely than other segments to subscribe to traditional pay-TV services. According to the latest TDG Research study and data-driven analysis of this vital but oft-overlooked consumer segment, this makes them excellent candidates for the high-revenue sales of operator value-added services. As TDG first noted earlier this year, the race-to-the-bottom that currently defines pay-TV operator strategy -- that is, the targeting of Millennials with low-cost bundles -- has deflects marketing resources away from efforts to grow ARPU among other subscribers. "Unlike Millennials, Broadband Boomers are quite loyal to their current operators and have very deep pockets,"...

American smartphone buyers are quickly adopting device "early upgrade" plans offered by their mobile service providers. Upgrade plan enrollment has more than quadrupled since September 2013 -- going from 7 to 31 percent by the end of the first quarter (Q1) 2014, according to the latest market study by NPD. The rapid acceptance of these new plans can be attributed to the awareness among some mobile phone owners. Overall, 73 percent of mobile phone owners who were asked if they were aware of the early upgrade plans being offered confirmed their awareness -- with about half of these people being "very aware." "As one might expect, older consumers are less interested in frequently upgrading their phones; but, surprisingly, Android smartphone owners are as interested in upgrading as their iPhone counterparts," said Stephen Baker, vice president at The NPD Group . In fact, 22 percent of Android and 25 percent of Apple owners are extremely interested in upg...

Wi-Fi adoption within the home is now pervasive, but application usage can vary. According to the latest market study by The Diffusion Group (TDG), 74 percent of Millennials that use a home network describe their use as either 'equally' or 'primarily' media-oriented, a rate that decreases linearly with increasing age. TDG’s detailed market assessment notes that this is coincidental with the fact that young adults consume greater amounts of digital media in the home from online video sources such as Netflix -- certainly more so than their older counterparts. While the percentage of digital media-oriented network users is relatively equal among the two Millennial segments, differences do exist. For example, among Late Millennials (18-24s), 24 percent are media-centric network users, significantly higher than Early Millennials (25-34s) at 15 percent. However, hybrid use (that is, equal use of the network for media and data purposes) was selected by 58 percent of Ea...

While Smart TV set adoption continues to gain momentum around the globe, there is a growing demand for streaming media player devices. Many users of the stand-alone device originally purchased it to connect an older TV to the internet. yet, some still prefer to use the device with their new Smart TVs. According to the latest market study by The Diffusion Group (TDG), 14 percent of broadband households currently use an Internet Set-Top Box (iSTB) -- such as Roku or Apple TV -- to access online over-the-top (OTT) video content on their television set. The demographic mix of early adopters is very broad. Internet set-top box use is especially prominent among Early Millennials (age 25-34) and Late Boomers (age 45-54). As noted in TDG's study findings, 29 percent of adult broadband users are to various degrees likely to purchase a new iSTB in the next six months. Interestingly, 48 percent of current iSTB users are to various degrees likely to purchase another iSTB -- that's ...

The global market for smartphones continues to evolve into distinct segments -- where the price is a key point of differentiation. The latest worldwide assessment categorizes the smartphone market into five price bands: Ultra-Premium, Premium, Standard, Economy and Ultra-Economy. Juniper Research estimates that the number of smartphone shipments exceeded a quarterly record of 250 million in the third quarter (Q3) of 2013, representing a y-o-y growth of almost 49 percent from Q3 2012, and q-o-q growth of 10 percent. Samsung now accounts for a third of all smartphones shipped with an estimated 85 million smartphones -- that's a new record for the company. They also reported a 26 percent growth in profit, driven by an increase of smartphone sales in both Premium and Economy segments. The Apple iPhone accounted for 1 in 7 smartphone shipments during Q3 2013, representing a quarterly growth of 8 percent from Q2 2013. Juniper’s latest research forecasts that Apple and Samsung wi...

According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, the smartphone operating system (OS) market will see new emerging players in the coming years gain ground -- such as Asha, Sailfish and HTML 5 based OS players. In the near term, the global market is expected to be dominated by Android and iOS. Juniper argues that these new OS contenders will built upon important market niches -- focusing on cost innovation and utilizing local knowledge -- in synergy with the next generation of consumers that seek mobile internet access. Over time, this focus on creating smartphone offerings for targeted market segments may begin the slow decline of the current global OS leaders. The Global Smartphone Duopoly In terms of smartphone shipments, Apple and Samsung will continue to dominate the global market, shipping 17 percent more smartphones in 2018 than were shipped globally by all vendors in 2012. The Juniper Research study found that Apple and Samsung global smartphone shipment...

​In many parts of the world, smartphone shipments account for a significantly larger percentage of mobile handset volume than feature phones and other low-cost handsets. Yet within the smartphone class of devices, segmentation is increasing to three price tiers -- low, mid, and high. Shipments of sub-$250 lower-cost smartphones will grow from 259 million in 2013 to 788 million in 2018, according to the latest global market study by ABI Research. Mid (sub-$400) and high ($400+) cost smartphone shipments are expected to grow from 635 million to 925 million over the same period. "As the feature phone segment continues to lose its battle for relevance, the low-cost smartphone has become the tool for operators seeking to drive increased data revenues," said Michael Morgan, senior analyst at ABI Research . The growth of smartphones in pre-paid and emerging markets will be the primary driver of low-cost smartphone growth. Developed and subsidized markets are also finding...

According to the latest market study by Informa Telecoms & Media, the smartphone market will start to diverge and sales will become dominated by two distinct categories -- low-end devices (priced below $150) and high-end devices (priced above $250). Overall, the pricing trend is downward. More expensive smartphones will find their market share shrinking from 85 percent of total smartphones sold in 2011 to 33 percent in 2017. In contrast, the low-end smartphones will gain significant new market share during the coming years to account for just over half (52 percent) of all the smartphones sold in 2017. The smartphone market is undergoing change -- whereby demand will be increasingly polarized between expensive and heavily-subsidized handsets, and affordable devices targeting the emerging markets. As a result, smartphone competition is becoming more intense. The average smartphone price will drop from $188 in 2011 to $152 in 2017 -- as a result of balancing the huge demand ...

According to the latest market study by comScore , demographic analysis of media tablet users by platform revealed distinct differences across iPad, Android and Kindle Fire. Apple iPad owners skewed male (52.9 percent), slightly younger (44.5 percent under the age of 35) and wealthier (46.3 percent residing in households with income of $100k or greater) compared to an average tablet user. In comparison, Amazon Kindle Fire owners saw their audience skew female with 56.6 percent of its audience base represented by females. Both Google Android and Kindle Fire users saw household income below that of iPad owners, aligning more closely with the mainstream household income reported by smartphone owners. In the fast-evolving and highly competitive tablet market, understanding the factors that are driving consumers’ purchase decisions is critical for both providers of operating systems and OEMs. Analysis of the top purchase consideration factors for an average tablet owner found that ...

Adventurous technology marketers looking for new territory to explore should consider Tier 2 cities in China -- such as Chengdu and Sichuan, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Growing Tier 2 cities are exploding in terms of growth and this growth is coupled with a very high proportion of savvy consumers -- indicative of the exponential upside for digital tech companies. IDC's research program has identified six distinct consumer market segments: Tech Evangelists, Impulse Buyers, Experimental Adopters, Pragmatic Purchasers, Green Buyers, and Disengaged Functionalists. Tech Evangelists not only own the most devices and utilize the most advanced functions, features and apps, they are also the group that drives adoption of device ownership and usage by other market segments. Tech Evangelists hold enormous sway over the buying patterns and device usage trends mass-market segments exhibit. They are also the group that mainstream market ...

Using their new and powerful mobile smartphones, an expanding class of American consumers -- 100 million strong and growing -- is helping to redefine the cultural norms in the U.S. marketplace. According to the latest market study by eMarketer, members of the "smartphone class" stand apart from other Americans in the way they shop, communicate, consume media -- even how they use their spare time. This class of smartphone-enabled people can be defined by their connectedness and their sense of empowerment that's attained through unfettered access to real-time online information. "What others do with a PC, they do with their smartphones," said Catherine Boyle, eMarketer senior analyst. Their phone is their workplace, entertainment center and their marketplace. They watch videos in coffee shops, social network at concerts, play games in waiting rooms, scan barcodes in stores and shop with their smartphone from anywhere at any time. Moreover, their mobi...

Mobile network service providers in developed nations who plan to grow their smartphone subscriber base should invest the time and effort to better understand the customer segments in their markets -- and do it soon, as media tablets and ereaders start to compete for consumer attention and available cash. Smartphone adoption requires of a recurring monthly data service fee in order to use the device. In contrast, media tablets and ereaders can function with only a Wi-Fi connection. Granted, each device serves a different main purpose, but consumers with limited income may conclude that they must choose one device over the other. Focusing on the Value Proposition The spectrum of possibilities for consumer electronic (CE) devices that power our digital lives have undergone disruptive changes over the past several years. Now, more than ever, people have a plethora of entertainment options. Smartphones have evolved from basic text-based communication tools to multimedia hubs. Erea...

There's much to be learned by observing the evolution of mobile device adoption and digital media consumption in the U.S. marketplace. About forty percent of all mobile service subscribers already own a smartphone and about twenty percent of all internet users own a media tablet. That being said, this marketplace will likely move slowly past the early-adopter stage of market development. The reason being: these new devices are still being marketed -- more often than not -- by vendors and mobile network service providers that fail to acknowledge the apparent consumer market segmentation. The problem of communicating the application value and benefits of these products is compounded by tech media journalists and gadget pundits who write product reviews that focus on esoteric feature/function and tech spec comparisons that are meaningless to most mainstream consumers. It's unfortunate, because digital media publishers and most savvy brand advertisers really want to reach th...

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 6.1 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2011 (4Q11). According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation ( IDC ), vendors shipped 427.4 million units in 4Q11 -- that's compared to 402.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010. The 6.1 percent year-over-year growth was higher than IDC's earlier forecast of 4.4 percent for the quarter, but weaker than the 9.3 percent growth in 3Q11. "The mobile phone market exhibited unusually low growth last quarter, which shows it is not immune to weaker macroeconomic conditions worldwide," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst at IDC. The introduction of high-growth products such as the Apple iPhone 4S, which shipped in the fourth quarter, helped to bolster smartphone growth. Yet overall market growth fell to its lowest point since 3Q09 when the global economic recession was in full bloom. While smartphones continue to grow in popularity, feature-...

According to the latest market study by International Data Corporation ( IDC ), success with mobile applications (apps) begins with targeting the right audience. Moreover, if you want to reach the overall largest group of early-adopters, then you'll focus on the South Korean market. IDC has identified six distinct consumer market segments: Tech Evangelists, Impulse Buyers, Experimental Adopters, Pragmatic Purchasers, Green Buyers, and Disengaged Functionalists. One market segment in particular -- Tech Evangelists -- was found to be particularly influential when it comes to mobile apps. "Tech evangelists not only own the most devices and utilize the most advanced functions, features, and apps, they are also the group that drives adoption of device ownership and usage by other market segments," said Michael DeHart, director at IDC. Tech Evangelists are not only deeply involved in app usage, but also the most educated consumers about apps and technology in general, l...

A couple of firsts in the smartphone market developed during the fourth quarter of 2011, now that most of the major handset manufacturers have reported their results. Apple iOS topped the smartphone market, and Google Android suffered its first decline in share. But for how long, who knows? According the the latest market study by ABI Research , the 4th quarter totaled 150 million smartphones shipped, representing a record high penetration of 36 percent of the 409 million total handsets shipped worldwide. Apple was the leader this quarter with 37 million iPhones shipped for a sequential growth rate of 117 percent (128% QoQ). The Apple results made it the number one smartphone OEM in the quarter and for the year. For the first time since Android was introduced, its market share declined from its 3Q high of 52.5 percent to 47.0 percent in Q4. Despite Samsung’s 33 million shipments as the head Android OEM, Apple’s iPhone 4S displaced Samsung and its highly coveted 280 percent YoY sm...

comScore released a report highlighting the results from a recent market study that identifies the unique characteristics of the Millennial generation -- defined as persons born between 1981 and 2000. The study examined the Millennial response to different types of advertising, including TV and digital -- compared to older generations -- and how marketers can most effectively target this large and important segment of the marketplace. "The 79 million Millennials in the U.S. have an estimated purchasing power of $170 billion per year, making them a highly attractive segment for brands to target," said comScore vice president Bert Miklosi. Their comfort-level with the Internet and new technology in general makes the digital medium an ideal platform for reaching these individuals. But Millennials are much more difficult to persuade with advertising -- especially the poorly conceived ads that you typically find on broadcast radio and TV channels. Key findings from the co...

The accelerated adoption of Android-based smartphones is a global phenomenon. According to the latest (2011 Q3) market study by IDC, Samsung has now overtaken Apple and grew share for a third consecutive quarter in the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) overall mobile phone market. Overall the Australian mobile phone market dipped by 17 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) by shipments across both smartphones and feature phones categories. The smartphone market is now 65 percent of the total Australian mobile phone market. Google Android has overtaken Apple iOS in first position -- holding 49 percent market share. Apple iOS in second place now holds 36 percent unit share as the market eased in preparation for the new iPhone 4S launched in October 2011. "Collective efforts to expand brand presence from all Android manufacturers at all price points will increase consumer choice and drive demand, which in turn will help Android grow to at least 40 percent market share over the next 3 ...

In a bygone era, live TV programming was the top television content source. Now, the availability of digital video recorders (DVRs), Pay-TV on-demand services, and online streaming video options has changed the viewer's preferences. According to the latest market study by TDG , a growing number of TV viewers fall into segments inclined to first select a source other than live broadcast TV. The impact on the traditional broadcast television ecosystem has been significant. To better understand this shifting behavior, TDG developed a quantitative framework based on consumer First Glance TV preferences among different television content sources, including live broadcast, DVR-recorded, on-demand, and online shows -- as well as physical discs such as DVD or Blu-ray. Based on this analysis, TDG identified five key segments -- non-overlapping groups that exhibit unique TV source preferences. The dominant characteristics of each segment are as follows: Black-Box Baulkers - strongl...

Media tablets are the latest consumer electronics device to gain adoption at home and then slowly infiltrate the enterprise IT environment. I first noticed the growing use of tablets by numerous early-adopters at the SXSWi event back in March of this year. While media tablet devices have only been available for a couple of years, the Apple iPad early-adopters have applied their personal experience and brand evangelism to help drive the rapid increases in ownership and usage. eMarketer estimates that by the end of 2011, 33.7 million Americans will use a tablet device at least monthly -- that's a rise of 158.6 percent over last year, the year the iPad was released. Growth will slow to double digits beginning in 2012, but the number of users will rise to nearly 90 million, or 35.6 percent of all internet users, by 2014. eMarketer's previous media tablet forecasts have focused on unit sales and the total installed base of devices. Current estimates now highlight...