How organisations can respond to the changing attitudes of today’s digital household

EY’s annual survey of 2,500 UK households explores consumer attitudes towards connectivity and content in the home, and what they mean for TMT providers.

Launched as a five-part series, this award-winning campaign delves into the key opportunities and challenges for TMT providers, including the smart home, viewing habits, privacy and customer service expectations.

This year’s research,  Decoding the digital home 2019: Early adopters and digital detoxers, reveals a number of fascinating findings, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges facing TMT providers in the digital home.

Read the full report

Opening the door to digital

Demand for the latest tech is recovering

Interest in the latest technology and gadgets is on the up, reversing 2017’s downward trend. 31% of households agree that they are interested in new gadgets and tend to get them before everyone else, up from 29% in 2017.

The smartphone is at the heart of the home

Households’ increased receptivity to new technology is also influencing the way they connect to the internet. 15% now use smartphones as their main way to go online, up significantly from 11% in 2017. Laptop connectivity went in the other direction, with 39% now using it as their main device for accessing the internet, down from 44% in 2017.

Becoming a nation of streamers

How we spend our time online is also changing. Just over a third of households (34%) often stream video content on multiple devices at the same time, up from 31% in 2017. Meanwhile, 30% of households say that streaming is now the primary way they watch television at home.

More fiber, more satisfaction

Alongside changing device and content consumption trends, new forms of connectivity continue to grow. Fiber broadband adoption now stands at 59%, up from 54% in 2017. Crucially, rising take-up is partnered by higher levels of satisfaction with broadband speeds: 61% of households are happy with the speed of their connection, up from 58% in 2017.

Households are willing to pay more than before

Despite ongoing concerns about UK consumer confidence, the good news for providers is that householders are actually willing to pay more than before, with 18% saying they would pay more to stream advert-free catch-up TV, up from 16% in 2017. and a similar rise in those willing to pay a premium to get the latest gadgets before everyone else: up from 19% in 2017 to 21% in 2018.

Young users: receptive and ready to spend

Prepared to drop fixed broadband for mobile data

With younger users’ high receptivity to new value propositions and operators preparing to launch 5G, there is scope for mobile broadband to take on a much greater importance in the home. Looking at all ages, 25% would be willing to ditch fixed broadband for an effective mobile broadband connection. For 18-24 year olds, this rises significantly to 43%.

Digital anxieties are on the rise

While enjoying the benefits of greater connectivity, households also articulate anxieties as they seek digital downtime, fall back on the familiar and worry about trust.

Complexity causes confusion

The bundle jungle: still overgrown

Nearly half (46%) of households think there is too much choice in terms of different bundles of broadband and content, up from 43% in 2017. This may be one reason many are reluctant to add more to their bundles, with the proportion of households taking a mobile phone as part of their broadband package falling to 16% in 2018 – a major setback when you consider that between 2016 and 2017 the uptake of mobile bundles more than doubled from 8% to 17%.

Fears of digital overexposure

Digital detox is top of mind

As tech becomes more and more central to our lives, worries about its impact increase. 43% of households are actively seeking time away from their smartphone and other internet enabled devices, up from 41% in 2017. Interestingly this figure is even higher for younger and perhaps more digitally savvy users, with half of all 25-34 year olds looking to digitally detox.