Online playfield expands to health, edu, grocery, fin
From search engines to social networks, people around the globe mostly use electronic devices for three primary purposes: relationship building/maintaining, information gathering and entertainment viewing. In fact, more than six-in-10 global respondents in Nielsen’s Global Digital Landscape Survey say they currently use electronic devices to connect with family and friends (65 per cent), get news (63 per cent), listen to music (63 per cent) and/or take pictures/videos (61 per cent). Nielsen has elaborated on the future use of electronic devices and the best opportunities for growth.
By gauging respondents’ willingness to use an electronic device for 14 unique activities, four common areas of interest rise to the top around the globe.
Health care: Sharing medical information is among the top activities for which respondents are willing to use an electronic device in all five regions. This is particularly attractive in developing regions, where access to medical services may not be as readily available. Sixty percent of respondents in Asia-Pacific, 52 per cent in Africa/Middle East, 50 per cent in Latin America say they’re willing to use an electronic device to share medical information; 45 per cent in North America and 39 per cent in Europe are willing.
Education: More than half of global respondents (52 per cent) say they’re willing to use an electronic device to get an education. Willingness is highest in Asia-Pacific and North America (57 per cent in each region); it’s lowest in Latin America (36 per cent), but this region also has the highest percentage of respondents who say they’re already using an electronic tool to get an education.
Grocery retailing: While less than one-third of global respondents (32 per cent) say they currently use an electronic device to buy groceries, nearly half (48 per cent) are willing to do so. Willingness is highest in the regions with the highest percentage of respondents already buying groceries electronically (Asia-Pacific and Africa/Middle East). North America, which has the lowest percentage of respondents who say they’re currently buying groceries with an electronic device, follows closely behind. Half of respondents in each region (54 per cent in Africa/Middle East, 51 per cent in Asia-Pacific and 50 per cent in North America) are willing to use an electronic device to buy groceries, while four-in-10 respondents in Latin America (46 per cent) and Europe (40 per cent) are willing to do so.
Finance: Fewer developing-market respondents say they’re currently using electronic devices to pay bills and conduct banking business, but there is interest to do so in the future. More than four-in-10 respondents in Asia-Pacific (47 per cent), Africa/Middle East (44 per cent) and Latin America (41 per cent) say they are willing to pay their bills with an electronic device. Similar percentages (46 per cent in Asia-Pacific, 45 per cent in Africa/Middle East and 36 per cent in Latin America) are willing to conduct banking business with an electronic device.
