More people across the globe, Nigeria inclusive, will watch streamed video on a weekly basis than broadcast television (TV) in 2015. This trend is one of the highpoints of Ericssons latest ConsumerLab annual report released to the media in Lagos, weekend. With media use patterns globalising, viewers around the world, are shifting towards easy-to-use on-demand services that allow cross-platform access to video content. This trend however is catching-on in the country as the penetration of internet-enabled smartphones increases. Industry observers are of the view that the much anticipated digital transition by television broadcasters next year, in consonance with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) mandates, will have little or no effect on this forecast. Nigeria has now more than 11 Million TV sets. Nigeria, considered the continent’s largest mobile market, has 130 million active mobile subscribers.
It is clear that more Nigerian will consume video and TV content via mobile phones. With the end of 2014 fast approaching, and Ericsson ConsumerLab, in the fourth edition of its annual trend report, has presented the hottest consumer trends for 2015 and beyond. Michael Björn, head of reserach, Ericsson ConsumerLab, said: “The cumulative effect of smartphones becoming part of mainstream society is astonishing. As consumers, we try out new apps and keep the ones we think improve, enrich or even prolong our lives at such a rapid pace that we don’t even notice that our attitudes and behaviors are changing faster than ever.” According to him, services and products that quite recently seemed beyond imagination are now easily accepted and believed to rapidly reach the mass market. “With only five years until 2020, the future really does seem closer than ever before”, Björn further explained.
According to the report, more people are embracing the digital purse, which is one of the hottest technology trends. 48 percent of smartphone owners would rather use their phone to pay for goods and services. 80 percent believe that the smartphone will replace their entire purse by 2020. The Ericsson ConsumerLab report further shows that smartphone owners see cloud-based services of various kinds giving them the potential to live healthier and longer lives. In view of this, jogging apps, pulse meters and plates that measure our food are believed to help prolong our lives by up to two years per application. Another high point of the report is the smart citizens. “The idea of smart cities is intriguing – but a lot of that intelligence may actually come about as a side effect of the changing everyday behaviors of citizens. As the internet makes us more informed, we are in turn making better decisions”. Consumers however believe traffic volume maps, energy use comparison apps and real-time water quality checkers will be mainstream by 2020.
Speaking on the sharing economy, which is another highpoint of the report, Rebecka Cadering Angstrom, senior advisor, consumer Insights, Ericsson ConsumerLab, said, as the internet enables us to efficiently share information with unprecedented ease, the idea of a sharing economy is potentially huge.
“Half of all smartphone owners are open to the idea of renting out their spare rooms, personal household appliances and leisure equipment as it is convenient and can save money”, she noted. According to the report, children will continue to drive the demand for a more tangible internet, where the physical world is as connected as the screens of their devices. 46 percent of smartphone owners say that children will expect all objects to be connected when they are older. The report also states that consumers are welcoming the idea of having domestic robots that could help with everyday chores. 64 percent also believe this will be common in households by 2020, according to the report.
Ben Uzor
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