Ericsson identifies consumer trends for 2013

“Ericsson ConsumerLab has identified consumer trends for 2013 and beyond. For more than 15 years, ConsumerLab has conducted research into people’s values, behaviour and ways of using ICT products and services”, a spokesman for Ericsson said.

Head of Research at ConsumerLab, Michael Björn said, “Our global research program is based on annual interviews with over 100,000 people in more than 40 countries and 15 megacities. Over the years we have amassed a huge database of consumer trend data – and we see that the pace of change is currently more rapid than ever.”

The 10 consumer trends are:

*Cloud reliance reshapes device needs. More than 50 percent of tablet users and well above 40 percent of smartphone users in USA, Japan, Australia and Sweden appreciate the improved simplicity of having the same apps and data seamlessly available through the cloud on multiple devices.

* Computing for a scattered mind. From desktops, files and folders to flat surfaces, apps and cloud services, consumers are increasingly turning their backs on a computing paradigm for the focused mind. * Bring your own broadband to work. A total of 57 percent of smartphone users use their personal smartphone subscriptions at work. * City-dwellers go relentlessly mobile. By relentlessly accessing the internet always and everywhere, consumers are now an unstoppable force making internet truly mobile.

* Personal social security networks. As a result of economic turbulence, trust in traditional structures and authorities is decreasing and consumers increasingly trust their personal communities.

* Women drive the smartphone market. New figures clearly show that women drive mass-market smartphone adoption.

* Cities become hubs for social creativity. City centre dwellers have significantly more friends online than people in suburban areas.

* In-line shopping. A total of 32 percent of smartphone users already shop with smartphones.

* TV goes social. A total of 62 percent of viewers use social fora while watching video and TV and 42 percent of those who use social fora or chats while watching discuss things they currently watch on a weekly basis.

Over 30 percent are more likely to pay for content watched in social contexts. The majority of video and TV consumption on mobile devices takes place in the home.

* Learning in transformation. Learning is transformed through both internal and external forces: Young people bring their personal technology experience into the classroom, driving a bottom-up pressure for change.

Simultaneously, governments and institutions look for new ICT solutions to be more efficient. Connectivity changes the outlook for children on a global scale. In India, around 30 million of 69 million urban children aged 9 to 18 own mobile phones.