Online Shoppers Are on the Recline This Holiday Season: The Couch
and Bed Among Top Shopping Sites, PC Favorite Cybershopping Tool
NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With less than three
weeks until Christmas, the majority of U.S. consumers (87 percent)
plan to avoid crowded stores and malls and plan to cybershop from
the comfort and convenience of home, according to a new survey by
Verizon.
Of these stay-at-home shoppers seeking to check off holiday
shopping lists while reducing stress, 21 percent plan to shop
online while relaxing on their couch, 8 percent will shop while in
bed, and 50 percent will do so while at their home-office desk.
When compared with all consumers, the preferences of
digitally-savvy, borderless consumers are somewhat different.
More of them (31 percent) plan to make purchases while on
their couch, or in bed (9 percent). Slightly less (45
percent) will do so from their home-office desk.
(NOTE: The complete results of the survey, including
color infographics, can be obtained at
www.borderlessconsumer.com. All the tables and graphics are
embeddable and downloadable.)
The findings are part of the Verizon FiOS Innovation Index:
Borderless Lifestyle Survey. Other key findings include:
- Thirty-three percent of all U.S. consumers and 37 percent of
borderless consumers intend to use a PC to purchase holiday gifts
online.
- Six percent of all consumers and 10 percent of borderless
consumers plan to use tablets and smartphones to purchase holiday
gifts this December.
Cyber Monday sales nationwide hit a record $1.5 billion this
year, driven by the growing number of consumers embracing a digital
"borderless lifestyle," enabled by Internet-connected devices that
allow customers to connect and accomplish what they want or need to
do, whenever they wish, wherever they are, using the device that
they prefer.
In previously released results of the Verizon FiOS Innovation
Index[1], 52 percent of U.S. consumers said high-speed Internet
access is their most important home convenience. This is
especially true among the most active online users – borderless
consumers – the nearly 40 percent of Americans who own PCs,
smartphones or tablets, and have an Internet-connectable device
with them at all times. (NOTE: [1]Survey conducted in
September 2012 by Harris Interactive
on behalf of Verizon among 2,292 U.S. adults)
"For many of us, the holidays can be as stressful as they are
joyful," said Eric Bruno, vice president of FiOS strategy and
development for Verizon. "Today's fast home-Internet speeds,
combined with the multitude of connectable devices, are helping to
relieve some of the yuletide pressure. This is why also many of the
consumers surveyed will do at least some of their shopping online
-- and although cybershopping is fundamentally driven by
convenience, our survey found it's increasingly about comfort,
too."
Online Holiday Shopping/E-Commerce
Findings
What is
Your Preferred Place to Be While Shopping Online?
|
All
Consumers
|
Borderless Consumers
|
On the
Couch
|
21%
|
31%
|
In
Bed
|
8%
|
9%
|
Home
Office/Desk
|
50%
|
45%
|
Another
Room in the House
|
11%
|
8%
|
Work
|
5%
|
4%
|
How Do
Consumers Plan on Purchasing Gifts This Holiday
Season?
|
All
Consumers
|
Borderless Consumers
|
Home:
PC
|
33%
|
37%
|
Home:
Tablet
|
3%
|
6%
|
Home:
Smartphone
|
3%
|
4%
|
Home:
Catalog and Phone
|
3%
|
3%
|
Store or
Mall
|
48%
|
41%
|
Work:
Online Any Device
|
5%
|
7%
|
Other
|
5%
|
3%
|
Total % of
Holiday Shopping Happening at Home (What Consumers Plan to
Do)
|
42%
|
50%
|
The survey also found strong interest in life-enhancing areas
such as telemedicine services and future entertainment-enriching
interactive TV technologies.
Emerging TV
Technologies
Strong Interest in New Television and Second
Screen Content
As 2012 comes to a close, a slew of new home network-connected
devices like smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and second- screen devices
like tablets and smartphones, are increasingly popular this holiday
gift season. As more of these gadgets are in consumers' hands
and homes, new interactive content and advertising opportunities
are emerging for the media industry.
Consumer Interest in Interactive TV Content and
Advertising
|
All
Consumers
|
Borderless Consumers
|
Interact
with TV commercials from a second screen
|
27%
|
40%
|
Interact
with TV shows from a second screen
|
35%
|
53%
|
Influence
a TV show plot from a second screen device
|
32%
|
48%
|
Control on
screen content with a second screen device
|
46%
|
69%
|
Smart Home Attitudes
U.S. consumers are becoming more aware and interested in Smart
Home services that allow them to remotely control lights,
appliances, heating and cooling, while keeping an eye on their home
with real-time video surveillance, and actively monitor their
household energy consumption. A survey conducted in
September 2012 by Harris Interactive
on behalf of Verizon found that the ability to conduct these
activities anytime they wish, from any location, is highly popular
among all U.S. consumers, with even greater benefit perception
among borderless consumers.
Primary
Benefits of Having a "Smart Home"
|
All
Consumers
|
Borderless Consumers
|
Security
|
53%
|
67%
|
Flexibility to double-check (e.g. lights, locks,
appliances) from anywhere, anytime
|
52%
|
70%
|
Convenience
|
51%
|
72%
|
Energy
efficiency
|
48%
|
65%
|
Peace of
mind
|
46%
|
59%
|
Remote
management
|
39%
|
54%
|
Ability to
monitor home activities
|
39%
|
54%
|
Continuous
awareness/connection to my home
|
34%
|
46%
|
Other
|
2%
|
2%
|
None
|
15%
|
0%
|
Remote Health Options
With the cold and flu season upon us and visits to the doctor's
office sometimes being difficult due to winter weather, the Verizon
FiOS Innovation Index took a look at how people might make use of
broadband powered telehealth services. The majority of U.S.
online adults indicated their desire to leverage the power of the
home broadband network, connected devices, and the reach of the
Internet to conveniently increase their access to medical
professionals for routine matters and chronic care for themselves
and members of their family.
Interested in Internet-Based "Remote Health"
Options
|
All
Consumers
|
Borderless Consumers
|
Having the
ability for doctors to remotely manage chronic diseases for a child
or elderly family member
|
59%
|
73%
|
Having the
ability to remotely monitor the well-being of a family member who
is at home – such as an elderly relative or sick child
|
63%
|
79%
|
Virtual
visits with your primary care physician from the comfort of your
home via video conference
|
54%
|
69%
|
Real-time
access to medical professionals via the Internet
|
67%
|
81%
|
More
Internet enabled health and wellness monitoring devices meant for
home use
|
59%
|
74%
|
Appliances
for virtual wellness check-ins and monitoring
|
60%
|
74%
|
Finally, the Index detected one holiday season challenge that
even the most advanced technologies cannot address. When
asked to choose between an extended visit at (1) the fully
connected home of a relative they don't care for, or (2) the
technologically barren home of a relative they are fond of – all
U.S. consumers, even borderless consumers, overwhelmingly chose a
week in "cyber-ian tech" exile over the alternative.
Visiting with Relatives During the
Holidays
|
All
Consumers
|
Borderless Consumers
|
Spend a
week in the home of a relative you don't particularly care for but
who has high-speed WiFi internet access, cable TV, a DVR and a game
console
|
19%
|
23%
|
Spend a
week in the home of a relative you are fond of but who has no
internet access and a TV with only basic broadcast
channels
|
81%
|
77%
|
The Verizon FiOS Innovation Index: Borderless Lifestyle Survey
was conducted in the U.S. on behalf of Verizon by Harris
Interactive from November 16-20,
2012, among 2,324 adults aged 18 and over. This online
survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no
estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in
New York, is a global leader in
delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications
services to consumer, business, government and wholesale
customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable
wireless network, with more than 94 million retail customers
nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications,
information and entertainment services over America's most advanced
fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to
customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune
500. A Dow 30 company with $111
billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse
workforce of more than 188,000. For more information, visit
www.verizon.com.
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SOURCE Verizon