Impact of technology on consumer's lives

1. IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY
ON CONSUMER’S LIVES
Sareeta Vala

2. INTRODUCTION
I am exploring the impact of internet
and technology on consumer’s lives
and how big the impact is. Millions and
millions of people use the internet
everyday and in many different way,
whether to browse or purchase or to
connect with other people. Social
media is currently a huge part of our
lives presently which relies on internet,
and with a constant update to devices
such as the start phone, the constant
need to always be ‘online’ is growing
rapidly.
(Beh Blog, 2018)

3. ACCESS TO THE INTERNET
➤ The worldwide internet traffic has reached more than 20 exabytes per month in 2010. (An exabyte is a billion gigabytes), and will
only keep rising. Fortunately, the physical infrastructure of the internet is equipped to handle it, at least for a while. The
undersea cables we use now can be upgraded to move data at 100 gigabytes per second, about 10 times faster than current
speed according to (Eha, B, 2018).
➤ Facebook logins - 900,000 per minute
➤ 15,000 gifs sent per minute via messenger
➤ 4,100,000 video watched per minute
(YouTube, 2018)

4. As seen below, since 1996, the number of internet users has increased exponentially over nearly 10 years. Not only in
Europe, but across the whole world. Access to the internet has become increasingly easier via different devices and
easier access to at least one of these devices in every country.
(Data.worldbank.org, 2018)

5. (Invespcro.com, 2018)

6. WHAT DIGITAL DEVICES ARE USED
Since the mobile phone was developed, it has been updated many many times over the years. The freedom on the device to
make more calls and send more messages, emails and now currently the constant use of social media and browsing of the
internet has meant that many people perhaps out of their many devices e.g. mobiles, tablets, computers etc. now have more than
1 mobile device.
As shown above, in 2005, the maps shows a lot less people to have cellular subscriptions of their mobiles due to less people
even having one of these devices. Looking at 2015, the map is very different, showing more subscriptions per 100 people across
the world. Clearly a very rapid increase in the mobile device.
(Data.worldbank.org, 2018)

7. (Archive.stats.govt.nz, 2018)
Audiences use various different devices such as desktop computers, laptops, more commonly - the mobile phone, television and
gaming devices that have browsing options. The graph above shows these different devices used and how there is an increase in
households that use these to access the internet. Taken into account, the fact that desktop computers are reducing due to
audiences becoming more mobile in where and when they browse the internet

8. You Tube - ‘how to’ videos
Physically seeking out the
product to get real time
information
Search engines e.g. Google
Other consumer reviews e.g. blogs
Peer group experience from
family/friends
Price comparison sites
Online research databases e.g.
wikihow
HOW CUSTOMERS SEARCH
FOR INFORMATION
HOW CUSTOMERS SEARCH FOR INFORMATION
Social Media

9. (Invespcro.com, 2018)

10. (Onthemarketblog.blogspot.com, 2018)
Here shown are some examples of what products/
services that are commonly purchased online and
the popularity percentage amongst age groups.
Items such as clothing and travel accommodation
have become increasingly popular due to new
comparison sites and apps allowing customers to
make fast decisions on what product is right for
them from any place at any time.
WHAT DO CUSTOMERS BUY ONLINE

11. ONLINE VIDEO CONSUMPTION
(Consumerbarometer.com, 2018)
This chart shows how at least weekly if not daily, people are watching some video of some type of information. These
videos will be readily accessible on every smart phone with access to the internet, as well as computers and tablets.
Media platforms such as You Tube have given rise to this number as well due to the platform being solely dedicated
to signing up and connecting to each other via likes and dislikes of videos constantly.

12. (IAB - Empowering the Marketing and Media Industries to Thrive in the Digital Economy, 2018)
According to (IAB, 2018), they show that from 2015 to 2016, there has been an overall increase in video consumption by the
consumers as shown by the revenues received. Taking into account, the fact that the method of viewing video is decreasing on
the desktop because more and more people are much more mobile and on the go, and nearly most will have a smart phone to
view video. Hence, it has become more convenient to watch more video while not being tied to the desk

13. CONSUMER TRENDS
(Chapman, 2018)
From the table, we can note a few
different points. Firstly, the comparison
we can make between different
generations, from the milllenials (most
recent generation) back to the older
bloomers etc, is that the percentage of
the millenials being 90-100% active online
is much more that the older bloomers or
the silent generation. There are more red
boxes for the millennial which is the most
current than any other generation. This
shows the increase in the uptake of usage
of the internet over the years and also
how much more internet savvy people are
today. They use the internet more
frequently for so much more like social
media or news or online banking than was
previously used 30 years ago. This can
also be explained due to increase of
technology e.g. smart phones and tablets
available to consumers now.

14. (Invespcro.com, 2018)

15. (Invespcro.com, 2018)

16. (Invespcro.com, 2018)

17. (Invespcro.com, 2018)

18. (Consumerbarometer.com, 2018)
This graph shows the increase in the percentage of people who use a smart phone in the 5 years. There is an increase
because consumers do much more with their devices e.g. browse, purchase, compare, blog and use social media to
connect.

19. SUMMARY
➤ Since a surge in the production and innovation of technology especially the smartphone, and then
additionally the system of app creation, consumers have found that the ease and speed of being able to
browse, connect, purchase all via the internet and has become increasingly quick. A lot of products are
now much more available online from a non-local location.
➤ Additionally per household, consumers will have more than 1 smart phone, a laptop, desktop computer
and perhaps a tv and/or tablet. With all these devices, data transfer using the internet is becoming
multiple folds higher. Consumers become dependant more online via one of these devices to find their
problem and solution of e.g. clothes shopping or next holiday booking will be done online.
➤ In the uprise of videos being created, You Tube has become the biggest video search engines not only
for entertainment but for education as well e.g. how to videos. Again, consumers becoming for
dependant that their solutions will be found online.
➤ Furthermore, looking at demographics, the younger generations have grown up with this surge in
technology so these groups are more dependant than older generations on the internet e.g social media,
news feeds, browsing etc.
➤ Businesses growing and looking to be successful have to be ready and adaptive to the change in
consumer habits of browsing and purchasing and where the influence is coming from. Businesses also
have to be prepared for the social media and video side to promote their product or service for the
future because online is a highly populated area of prospective customers.

20. REFERENCES
➤Eha, B. (2018). An Accelerated History of Internet Speed (Infographic). [online] Entrepreneur. Available at: https://
www.entrepreneur.com/article/228489 [Accessed 18 Jun. 2018].
➤Data.worldbank.org. (2018). World Bank Open Data | Data. [online] Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/ [Accessed 18 Jun. 2018].
➤Data.worldbank.org. (2018). World Development Indicators (WDI) | Data Catalog. [online] Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/data-
catalog/world-development-indicators [Accessed 18 Jun. 2018].
➤Archive.stats.govt.nz. (2018). Household Use of Information and Communication Technology: 2012. [online] Available at: http://
archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/information_technology_and_communications/
HouseholdUseofICT_HOTP2012.aspx [Accessed 19 Jun. 2018].
➤Consumerbarometer.com. (2018). Consumer Barometer from Google. [online] Available at: https://www.consumerbarometer.com/en/
insights/?countryCode=UK [Accessed 21 Jun. 2018].
➤IAB - Empowering the Marketing and Media Industries to Thrive in the Digital Economy. (2018). To Understand the Changing
Landscape of Video Consumption, Take a Walk on the Vertical Side. [online] Available at: https://www.iab.com/news/understand-
changing-landscape-video-consumption-take-walk-vertical-side/ [Accessed 21 Jun. 2018].
➤Chapman, C. (2018). Design Charts for Better Typography and Color. [online] noupe. Available at: https://www.noupe.com/inspiration/
infographics/design-charts-for-better-typography-and-color.html [Accessed 21 Jun. 2018].
➤Onthemarketblog.blogspot.com. (2018). UK is online shopping capital of europe with 4 out of 5 buying products online. [online]
Available at: https://onthemarketblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/uk-is-online-shopping-capital-of-europe.html [Accessed 22 Jun. 2018].
➤Beh Blog. (2018). How marketers do their consumers behaviour on Internet. [online] Available at: https://ssbeh.wordpress.com/
2015/05/10/how-marketers-do-their-consumers-behaviour-on-internet/ [Accessed 22 Jun. 2018].
➤ Invespcro.com. (2018). Online Consumer Shopping Habits and Behavior- Statistics and Trends [Infographic]. [online] Available at:
https://www.invespcro.com/blog/online-consumer-shopping-habits-behavior/ [Accessed 28 Jun. 2018].