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Cape Town - South Africans love digital toys - and it's a love that shows no signs of abating soon.
According to data from Accenture, locals have a love affair with mobile technologies and can't wait to get their hands on the latest and greatest that manufacturers can place in the market.
The company's Digital Consumer Survey 2014 conducted a survey among 1 000 South Africans on their usage and buying patterns.
The results indicate that smart devices are popular, but there is also interest in wearable technology.
Here is a summary of the findings.
• Consumers crave more devices - even if they already have a stable of consumer electronics, many consumers have plans to purchase more categories of devices in addition to purchasing more in the categories they already own. Smartphones, tablets and laptops top the list of devices that consumers plan to buy.
• Growing interest in wearable technology - consumers surveyed indicated interest in devices like smart watches (63%) and wearable smart glasses (57%), despite these devices not being commercially available in South Africa. The interest in wearable technology underscores the growing consumer desire to be more digitally connected at all times.
• Content preference per device - while South Africa's consumers still gravitate to "leaning back" with bigger screens for long-form content such as sports games and full length movies, they prefer smartphones and tablets for social activities and shorter form or “snackable” content.
• Appification of everything - People are interested in buying functionality for everything from vehicle navigation and home security, to personal safety, and health and fitness. Despite the large number of product categories owned by respondents, a lot of the functionality they need is being added and more often used via apps on their multifunctional devices.
• Consumers are willing to pay for a better user experience - 90% of respondents indicated that they have experienced TV and movie interruptions due to poor home-broadband connections, but more than 70% of those indicated that they would readily pay more for a faster connection.
• Consumers are willing to negotiate on digital trust - more than half of consumers surveyed were willing to share personal data in exchange for improved services or discounts as long as some basic rules apply.
According to data from Accenture, locals have a love affair with mobile technologies and can't wait to get their hands on the latest and greatest that manufacturers can place in the market.
The company's Digital Consumer Survey 2014 conducted a survey among 1 000 South Africans on their usage and buying patterns.
The results indicate that smart devices are popular, but there is also interest in wearable technology.
Here is a summary of the findings.
• Consumers crave more devices - even if they already have a stable of consumer electronics, many consumers have plans to purchase more categories of devices in addition to purchasing more in the categories they already own. Smartphones, tablets and laptops top the list of devices that consumers plan to buy.
• Growing interest in wearable technology - consumers surveyed indicated interest in devices like smart watches (63%) and wearable smart glasses (57%), despite these devices not being commercially available in South Africa. The interest in wearable technology underscores the growing consumer desire to be more digitally connected at all times.
• Content preference per device - while South Africa's consumers still gravitate to "leaning back" with bigger screens for long-form content such as sports games and full length movies, they prefer smartphones and tablets for social activities and shorter form or “snackable” content.
• Appification of everything - People are interested in buying functionality for everything from vehicle navigation and home security, to personal safety, and health and fitness. Despite the large number of product categories owned by respondents, a lot of the functionality they need is being added and more often used via apps on their multifunctional devices.
• Consumers are willing to pay for a better user experience - 90% of respondents indicated that they have experienced TV and movie interruptions due to poor home-broadband connections, but more than 70% of those indicated that they would readily pay more for a faster connection.
• Consumers are willing to negotiate on digital trust - more than half of consumers surveyed were willing to share personal data in exchange for improved services or discounts as long as some basic rules apply.
