In their position as Consumer Watchdogs for the Digital World, the German Federation of Consumer Organizations recently presented the results of a consumer survey on user behavior in online markets. Bitkom Research conducted the telephone survey with 1.007 German consumers. According to the survey:
- 80% of men and 75% of women claim to regularly use streaming services.
- The majority of people aged 14 to 29 and 30 to 49 regularly stream online content (92% and 91%). Yet, in the age group 65+ only 27% use streaming services.
- 25% already experienced problems with streaming services – bad reception (35%) being the main issue followed by high prices (19%), questions related to copyright (17%) and limited selection of offers (10%).
- The reasons for not using streaming services can be found in too high prices (32%), difficulties in use (27%) and in registration (27%).
The results of the study form part of the thematic dossier of the Consumer Advice Center Rhineland-Palatinate, which deals with consumer protection in digital markets. Heiko Maas, German Minister of justice and consumer protection, further explained: “Consumers are increasingly dependent on digital products (…). Hence it is especially important to pay attention to consumer rights and data protection being guaranteed by firms. The consumer watchdogs obtain a crucial sensory function to detect problems in the market at an early stage.”
More information and study
Source: German Federation of Consumer Organizations (vzbv)