Voice messaging is not so popular in the DACH region
Voice messages are dividing Europe—according to a study by Digitec Galaxus. While one in two people in Italy and France enjoys sending and receiving them, they are less popular in the DACH region. The reasons: they’re too long, lack transparency, and are an invasion of privacy when eavesdropped on.
In May published the Galaxus editorial team an article on the subject of voice messageswhich was hotly debated in the comments column. Many users gave free rein to their frustration about the unloved audio messages in the comments column.
To get to the bottom of the matter, Digitec Galaxus had the Link market research institute survey a total of 2,500 people in Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland about their own communication behavior, including voice messages.
Please text, do not call
According to the study results, text messages are by far the most popular means of communicating with friends in all five countries.
It also shows that 77 percent of Swiss people most frequently contact their friends via text message. In Italy and France, text messages are also the most popular communication medium, but at a significantly lower level.
By contrast, respondents from Austria and France prefer to pick up the phone: just under a third prefer to call their friends. In Switzerland, people don't like to talk on the phone: Only 15 percent of Swiss people call their friends most often.
In France, picture and video messages are also sent comparatively frequently. Video telephony is least popular in Switzerland, and mail is relatively popular among Germans.
Italy: The land of voice messages
The active and passive communication preferences are similar. There are differences above all when it comes to making phone calls: Basically, the respondents prefer to take calls rather than call someone themselves - especially in Italy, Austria and Switzerland.
The most active senders of voice messages live in Italy. 13 percent of those surveyed report most frequently via voice message. In Switzerland, on the other hand, people are least happy to receive them.
"Superfluous" voice messages
Generally speaking, voice messages are unpopular in the DACH region. More than a third of respondents find voice messages superfluous. In Switzerland, the rejection rate is highest at 46 percent.
The survey also shows that people prefer to receive voice messages rather than send them. This preference can be observed in all five countries surveyed.
The gap is largest in Switzerland: 21 percent of respondents like to receive voice messages, only 3 percent like to send them. In Germany, this difference is eight percentage points, in Italy only six.
What's annoying about voice messages
In the DACH region, the thing that annoys people most is that voice messages are not transparent. It is not immediately apparent what the message is about - unlike text messages. In Switzerland, 56 percent of respondents are also bothered by the fact that they cannot listen to the message discreetly - for example, while at work.
Italians find it tedious that voice messages are often very long. People in France seem to think very time-efficiently: They are particularly annoyed by the fact that they have to listen to voice messages again at a later time - unless they reply immediately. However, 33 percent of respondents from France say they listen to received voice messages immediately - the highest percentage in the comparison.
Italy is in second place in terms of "listening speed". 24 percent of Italians listen to voice messages subito. In Austria and Switzerland, it could take longer to receive a reply. Strikingly, not a single respondent in Italy says they listen to messages the next day or later.
Most survey participants act in a very self-determined manner: They listen to the voice message as soon as they have time. In Austria and Switzerland, two-thirds of respondents do not allow themselves to be stressed when listening and responding.
Voice messages are usually listened to at normal speed. The French have it more pressingly: Every fourth person increases the speed when playing back.
The market research institute Link has recently started conducting studies for Digitec Galaxus - no longer GfK as before. As part of the representative survey in the DACH countries, France and Italy, 2,600 people were questioned in September 2023.
