Digital consumers: how did the pandemic impact our habits?

By: Ricardo Sametband

“The Nation” / Argentina / GDA

The consulting firm Tendencias digitales, in alliance with the Grupo de Diarios América (GDA) carried out an investigation to try to determine what the digital consumer of Latin Americawith data updated to 2022.

The study, carried out in 15 countries between July and September of this year, analyzes the responses of almost 7,000 Internet users in the region, especially in comparison with previous years.

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“Consumer behavior changed as a result of the impact that the pandemic had on it. Now, with the health crisis partially over, many of the changes and new behaviors have been maintained, however, some have decreased and new ones have emerged that, although they had already been glimpsed, were driven by consumers at home, with new priorities. , more informed and more demanding -clarify the authors of the study-. This year’s measurement seeks to find out which behaviors have changed and how consumers relate to new technologies that, although they seemed distant, are increasingly being applied in everyday life: cryptocurrencies, virtual reality, augmented reality, metaverse, etc. They are some of the ones that we explore and although many consumers do not yet know what they are about, this also sheds light on new things that brands and companies can do to innovate and stand out in the market.”.

According to the study, Internet penetration in the region (that is, how many inhabitants have access to the Internet) reached an average of 74 percent; the number is higher than the world average (63%); Puerto Rico is in the lead, with 92 percent penetration, that is, with almost the entire population accessing the Internet, followed by Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Argentina, which has 80% penetration.

As regards types of connection, the leader for the region, without discussion, is the cell phone: 94% of the region’s inhabitants with Internet access use a telephone as an access bridge; This is followed by the notebook (68%), the desktop PC (48%) and the tablet (31%).

The quality of this access, of course, is defined by speed: on average, the available bandwidth in Argentina is 39 Mbps for mobile connections, and 65 Mbps for fixed connections, one of the highest in the region. Here Chile leads, with 55 Mbps speed for 4G and 96 Mbps for home fixed connection.

The most visited sites using this access also give an idea of ​​the use given to the devices: the ranking is led by Google (visited by 95% of those surveyed), followed by YouTube (88%), Gmail (83% ), Facebook (78%) and Instagram (57%).

(GDA)

This ranking coincides with the one that measures the main uses of the Internet in the region: searching for information (91%), accessing email (85%), reading the news, visiting social networks, downloading files, accessing home banking, watch videos, buy products and services, chat and talk on the phone.

And what are the services preferred by users in Latin America? Here there are no surprises: WhatApp leads, with 88%, followed by Facebook (84%) and Instagram (66%), all three from Meta; then come YouTube (59%), Twitter (58%), Facebook Messenger, Linkedin, Telegram, Pinterest and Tiktok.

Similarly, when it comes to watching video content, the leader is YouTube (85% of those surveyed), followed by Netflix (54%), Facebook (52%), Instagram (37%, especially with stories and “reels”) and TikTok, with 26%; further back come Disney+, streaming TV channels, Amazon Prime Video or Twitter.

The primacy of YouTube is understood by the main topics when watching online videos: news (76%), tutorials of any kind (69%), music (68%) or videos of other people (55%, typically on Instagram or TikTok).

The study also reveals what type of information Internet users in Latin America seek. The main reason is the search for news information (88%) followed by the search for places, that is, maps and locations (73%), data for some work task (71%), to do paperwork, to decide on a purchase ( 64%), to determine a medical issue (59%, key in these years of the coronavirus pandemic), to entertain themselves (58%), study (55%), understand a political position (32%).

But access to the internet is also related to the sharing of user-created content: here, the most common are photos (87%), followed by videos (61%), both with destinations on Instagram, Tiktok or Facebook; the texts (34%) and the audios (10% of those surveyed). According to the survey, in addition, 39 percent of those consulted play online games.

The survey also tried to determine how popular smart speakers are, those that allow you to talk to Google or Alexa; 51 percent of those surveyed said they had used them at some point, mainly to listen to music (91%), news (37%), make calls (36%), control a connected item in the home (25%), search for information ( 24%) or listening to podcasts (22%); it is also used to make accounts or look up data, have a weather forecast, set reminders or send messages.

Regarding sharing personal information, 60% of those surveyed prefer not to do so, although they have fewer problems offering professional or work information (64%); also personal photos or videos (41%) and political or religious opinions (32%), but not private conversations, the history of visits to websites or dating applications, three items of 14% or less, that people consider that it would reveal too much about him. The data is self-explanatory, but it has an important context: 74% of those surveyed say they have suffered, at some point, the theft of private information.

The Digital Trends study also addresses the issue of electronic commerce: and found that more than 80% of consumers in the region have already incorporated online shopping as a daily occurrence, both for physical products in stores and for digital content (mainly games). . What is most purchased online are electronic items (54%), clothing and footwear (51%), food delivery (41%), tickets (37%), digital products (35%) and personal care products, reservations in hotels, medicines, cleaning supplies or event tickets.

Credit and debit cards continue to be the main means (both used by two thirds of those interviewed), with a lower presence of bank transfers (31%), PayPal (25%) or Mercado Pago (20%), two payment systems electronic payments with a wide presence in the region.

Cryptocurrencies do not appear as a payment method; less than 25% of those surveyed say they have access to them. Of those that did, the leader is Bitcoin (72%), followed by Ethereum (43%) and others such as Binance, Litecoin or Dogecoin. Binance, despite being behind as a monda, is the main platform (with 47%) to carry out operations with cryptocurrencies. Only 34% use them to pay for things: 69% take them as an investment in the future, hoping that the price will grow in the long term.

(Bloomberg) (Moe Zoyari/)

Similarly, 92% of those surveyed said they were aware of NFTs, but only 6% said they had purchased something that has been sold in this format (such as avatars in digital media, music, collectibles or works of art). The news about its valuation falling in the medium term did not contribute to the popularity of NFTs.

In the same way, 66 percent of those surveyed say they know the metaverse; Of the most popular digital environments, Minecraft leads, followed by Roblox and Fornite. But its future is not clear: 28% say they do not understand the purpose of the metaverse, and 20% say it is a fad. Virtual or augmented reality is closer, although with a long way to go: 40% of those surveyed say that they used some virtual reality system with glasses, especially for video games and online events, in addition to using the phone to view content interactive that triggers a print ad. But there is an opportunity: respondents are willing to use devices of this type to discover tourist places where they plan to vacation, houses to rent or furniture to decorate the home, the same as trying on clothes or makeup.

Where there is also a challenge is with chatbots: 78 percent believe that these automated dialogue systems by messenger are very limited, do not offer a quality of service comparable to that of a person, and do not correctly understand the needs of the user.

It’s a pending score: while Latin Americans are clearly willing to embrace technology, adopting it when it has a clear advantage, they don’t seem as willing to add extras if the experience isn’t optimal.

Source: Elcomercio