Today, the German Society for Consumer Research (GfK) published its results for the GfK Connected Consumer Index. In the international context of 78 countries and 8 worldwide regions, the index examines to what degree and with the help of what devices consumers are connected among each other as well as with digital content. Respective consumer behavior for eleven types of devices (such as smartphones and tablets, wearables, e-reader, connected car and smart home) was measured and compared according to index values.
Past years’ as well as future trends in consumer connectivity can be summarized as follows:
- In the international ranking of 2015, Hong Kong, North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Norway, Germany and Great Britain constitute the Top 5 of the most highly connected societies.
- The 2016 forecast predicts Germany to fall back from 4th to 5th place, just behind the United Arab Emirates and Norway.
- Among the Top 10, the United Arab Emirates improved the most in 2016 compared to the previous year by moving from the 8th to 3rd place.
Kevin Walsh, Director of Trends and Forecasting at GfK, commented on the results as follows: “We are seeing some macro trend increases in connectivity across all countries. For high growth markets, especially across the Middle East, Africa and emerging APAC, the dominant trend remains smartphone adoption. This is the primary device - and often the first device - for consumers to connect to data services. (…) For developed markets, primarily Western Europe and North America, the growth drivers have already moved to the next wave of consumer connectivity. Wearables are leading the way, together with connected cars. Smart home technology is an equally significant opportunity, but expected to be slower and steadier in terms of the consumer adoption curve.”
Source: Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung
More information and link to GfK Connected Consumer Index