The hunger for digital devices continues unabated

Smartphones, HDTVs and tablets are still on people's shopping lists. In addition, wearables such as smartwatches and smartglasses will continue to change everyday media life, as the latest "Digital Consumer Tech Survey 2014" by management consultants Accenture shows. The international study surveyed 6,000 consumers from Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, the UK and the USA. First of all, it is clear that many consumers are already well equipped with digital devices. Almost 75% of respondents own a laptop, 69% a smartphone, 57% an HDTV, 37% a tablet and 37% a games console. Over a quarter of consumers even own a set consisting of a smartphone, laptop and tablet.

And interest in digital devices is unbroken. 52% of respondents plan to buy a smartphone in the next 12 months. 29% want to replace their old smartphone, 19% intend to buy a smartphone in addition to their current device and 4% intend to buy a smartphone for the first time. The intention to buy tablets is also high: 40% of those surveyed plan to buy a tablet in the next 12 months - 10% of these are replacements, 19% want to buy another tablet and 11% plan to buy a tablet for the first time. There is great interest in phablets, i.e. devices that combine the advantages of smartphones and tablets: half of the planned smartphone purchases (51%) are phablets.

HDTV is also still very popular: 41% of respondents plan to buy an HDTV set. For 9% of consumers, this will be their first such set, 11% plan to replace their current HDTV and 21% will then own at least two HD televisions. Consumers will also increase their digital equipment with new laptops (38% plan to buy), games consoles (25%), e-readers (22%) and set-top boxes (17%), among other things.

The next innovations are also in the starting blocks: Wearables. Smart devices worn on the body are arousing great interest among consumers. 46% are interested in smartwatches, 42% in smartglasses. The appeal of these devices is presumably also due to the fact that they facilitate permanent monitoring of personal data (54% are interested in monitoring their own health, for example) and support permanent connectivity with the environment (53% want to control and monitor their home, for example). What about the functions that different end devices perform? This shows that consumers are using more and more devices in a multifunctional way. For example, 51% of respondents use TV apps on mobile devices or plan to use them in the next 12 months. On the other hand, half of those surveyed prefer to use different devices depending on what they want to do. Ultimately, only 29% of consumers prefer an all-in-one solution. The fact that the hunger for digital devices remains immense is also reflected in consumers' willingness to pay: 33% of respondents intend to spend more on digital devices in the next 12 months than they have done so far.

Clemens Koob