Mobile Consumer Survey 2018
Our annual Mobile Consumer Survey has launched. The survey provides truly unique insight into the mobile behaviour of more than 54,000 respondents across 35 countries, with our sample for the UK covering 4,150 respondents aged 16-75.
Over the next couple of months, we will be adding new insights to the microsite. Sign up to be one of the first to receive the updates.
Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss the findings in more detail.
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The race to 5G
The race to deploy the first 5G network in the UK has begun; how swiftly will this new technology be adopted? Will it prove to be evolutionary or revolutionary?
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State of the smartphone market
Higher prices, lower sales and growing base: what is the future of the smartphone?
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Smartphones and media
Media has been a key driver of the adoption of the smartphone. Over the next decade, the smartphone is likely to help drive the monetisation of media.
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Data privacy: it’s complicated
More of us believe our personal data is being used by online companies – but is awareness enough to change our behaviour?
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Talking to myself: Voice assistant usage goes mainstream
As voice assistant usage goes mainstream and its capabilities evolve, will the novelty wear off or will voice assistants become the dominant user interface of the future?
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Smartphone usage: The era of the dashboard
Smartphones have moulded our behaviours, for better and worse. Will increased awareness prompt us to moderate our usage levels?
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Explore the data in more detail
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Smartphone usage for media-related activities
Reading news is the most popular media-related activity done daily
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Access to digital media subscription services and usage on smartphones
26% of streaming music subscribers access this service on-the-go via smartphone
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Device preferences for consuming different types of media
TV remains the preferred device to watch long-form content
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Voice assistant’s frequency of usage on voice assisted speakers
Among those who use voice assistants on smartphones, 54% used it within the last week
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Usage of voice assistants by device among all respondents
34% of UK consumers use voice assistance via smartphone while 8% use it via voice assisted speakers
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Access to voice assisted speakers by age group (2017 vs. 2018)
Access to voice assisted speakers has almost doubled in one year
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Top 5 reasons to use voice assistants on voice assisted speakers
77% use their voice assistant speaker to play music
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Top 5 reasons to use voice assistants on smartphones
Over 50% use voice assistance to search general information
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Frequency of accepting terms and conditions without reading them (2017 vs. 2018)
Almost 80% of respondents accept terms and conditions most of the time without reading them
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Type of information shared online with organisations
Email address and name are the most commonly shared type of information with organisations online
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Level of concern pertaining to how companies share, use and store personal data
An average of 49% are ‘very concerned’ about companies using, storing or sharing their personal data with third parties.
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Awareness of personal data shared with third parties (2017 vs. 2018)
Over 50% claim their data is shared ‘most of the time’ – the awareness of personal data sharing with third parties has only increased slightly since last year.
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Awareness of personal data being used by companies that respondents interact with online (2017 vs. 2018)
With data privacy in the limelight this year, significantly more people believe the companies they interact with online use their personal data
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Smartphone usage for work outside of normal working hours
26% employees use their smartphone often or very often for work outside of normal working hours
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Perception of extent of smartphone usage
43% of the respondents think their partner uses smartphones ‘too much’
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Attitudes towards 5G adoption
12% would switch to a 5G network as soon as it becomes available, while 32% would eventually adopt it, following a typical technology bell curve.
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Smartphone penetration vs smartphone shipments (2013-2018)
Smartphone penetration growth has slowed down in recent years whereas smartphone shipments have declined in the past few years
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Type of subscription of overall base (2015-2018)
SIM-only contracts have increased in popularity in recent years; almost 1 in 3 (32%) phones in the UK are on a SIM-only contract
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Smartphone penetration by age group (2012-18)
Smartphone penetration has seen growth across all age groups, the 55-75 category has seen the most growth increasing from 40% in 2013 to 77% in 2018
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Frequency by usage of device
Smartphones are the most frequently used devices in the UK: 95% of smartphones owners aged 16-75 used their device in the last day
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Activities performed on smartphones at least once a week
62% take photographs and 20% record video at least once a week; applying camera filters is the most commonly used form of AR
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Status of device adoption
Ownership of wearables has risen the fastest compared to other devices
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Excessive phone or smartphone usage by age group
The 16-24 age group has the most excessive usage with 60% compared to an average of 36% for all respondents
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Device penetration (2012-18)
Smartphone has become ubiquitous over the years growing from 52% in 2012 to 87% in 2018
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Frequency of usage of voice assistants on voice assisted speakers
85% of all respondents who have access to voice assisted speakers use it on weekly basis
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Usage of voice assisted speaker by age group
Over 60% of the 45+ years old used their voice assistant speaker on the previous day
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Awareness and usage of applications featuring machine learning
Most machine learning features are only used by a minority of respondents; Predictive texting is the machine learning feature that most respondents are aware of and use
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Work related smartphone activity usage
Emails and making standard calls are the highest reported use of smartphones for work purposes. Interestingly, over a third (34%) claim not to do any of these activities
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Effects of excessive smartphone usage
45% feel they need to constantly check their phone, or are distracted by their phone while completing a task
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Smartphone and tablet penetration among 55-75 year olds (2013 vs 2018)
Smartphone and Tablet penetration the 55-75 years old has grown noticeably since 2013 with an annual growth of 14% (smartphones) and 18% (tablets) through a period of five years.
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Smartphone usage for media-related activities done at least once a week (2017 vs. 2018)
46% watch short videos or live posts once a week, a substantial increase since last year
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Year when current smartphone was acquired
The smartphone base is aging: every year, the % of smartphones acquired in the last 18 months has fallen.
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Smartphone purchasing channel by type of retailer (2016-18)
The proportion of smartphones purchased from the mobile operators has declined by 4% from 2016 to 2018
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Smartphone purchasing channel (2016-18)
Purchase of phones in store has decreased from 39% in 2016 to 33% in 2018
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Outcome for previous smartphone subsequent to buying or receiving current one (2017-18)
Proportion of respondents who gave their previous smartphone to a family member or friend declined by 5%
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Methods of authentication used among 18-75 year olds (2016-18)
Usage of fingerprint recognition for authentication has increased significantly in 2018 and almost doubled over 2 years
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Fingerprint usage (2017-18)
Usage of fingerprint to authorise payments/purchases has increased by 13%; authorising money transfers to other people/organisations has gone up 10%
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Last time respondents visited a mobile operator store by reason
Getting information about new mobile phones and to get information about contract/tariffs or check bills are the most popular reasons to go into operator stores in the last 12 months
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Last time respondents accessed their mobile operator’s app/website by reason
Getting information on contracts/tariffs and querying bills is, by far, the main reason to visit an operator website or app
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Services expected in mobile operator stores
More than half of the respondents would like to be able to fix their phones and try out or buy new phones in operator stores
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Ways in which respondents are getting information on new phones (from a mobile operator)
Most common way of obtaining information on new mobile phones was via the operator’s app or website; when looking at the last two years or beyond, a greater proportion of respondents have visited a store to do this
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Last time respondents visited a mobile operator store
Half of UK phone owners have visited a store in the last 12 months
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Channels of interaction with mobile operators ever used by age groups
Visiting mobile operators store is the most popular channel to reach out to an operator
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Activities performed on a smartphone at least once a day (2017-18)
Daily usage of smartphones for shopping and finance related activities has increased in 2018 among most activities
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Activities performed on a smartphone “Ever” (2017-18)
There’s a significant growth in usage for finance-related activities on smartphones in 2018.
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Payment methods used on smartphones for in-store purchases
PayPal and Apple Pay are the most commonly used smartphone-based payment methods for in-store product/service purchases; PayPal grew by almost 50% in the last year
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Apps/website used to purchase products/services online
A marketplace app (e.g. eBay, Shpock, Amazon) is the most commonly used channel to purchase products or services online through a smartphone
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Access to digital media subscriptions by age group
Access to digital media subscription services is significantly higher among the younger age groups; 69% of 18-24 year-olds have access to SVoD
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Devices used for work purposes
62% of workers in the UK use a PC for work purposes; 40% use a mobile device. A fifth (21%) use no device for work purposes; the majority use no mobile device
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Usage of devices for work purposes by industry
a third of workers in retail use no device; IT and communications sectors have the highest usage (95% use a device)
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Tasks performed in the workplace
Communicating with colleagues and clients are the most common tasks workers perform
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Access to digital media subscriptions and usage on smartphones
Nearly half of respondents have access to video on demand services followed by 37% who have access to music subscriptions; among all types of subscription services, music streaming is the most widely used on smartphones
Contacts
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Paul Lee
Partner, Head of Global Research, Technology, Media & Telecommunications
+44 20 7303 0197
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Amrita Ranchhod
Insight Manager for Technology, Media & Telecommunications
+44 20 7007 0358
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George Parrett
Press Officer, Technology, Media & Telecommunications
+44 20 7007 7285