The voracious digital omnivores

The number of consumers with more than one digital device continues to grow, and they are hungry for content.

Deloitte recently released the findings of its eighth Digital Democracy Survey, which show that over a third of U.S. consumers – 37 percent – are digital omnivores, consumers who own tablets, smartphones and laptops. That’s a 42 percent increase from the previous year.

The growth is primarily driven by continued tablet usage and increased smartphone ownership. Tablet ownership rose from 13 percent in  2011 to 48 percent last year, according to Deloitte.

In addition, women, who made up 35 percent of digital omnivores a year ago, now comprise 45 percent of the group.

As the usage of tablets and smartphones as content devices grows, owners are craving more content. Interest in streaming content has nearly doubled, from 17 percent in 2012 to 32 percent in 2013, with interest in digital formats outpacing demand for physical media.

Deloitte.com

But Deloitte’s survey also found that consumers remain content with pay TV subscriptions, with only 6 percent saying they would give up their paid TV services next year.  Also, a majority of consumers said they still prefer to rent movies and television programming rather than purchase it.

With ownership of multiple devices on the rise, so is multitasking. According to Deloitte’s survey, 86 percent of consumers continue to be distracted by another device with watching TV, up from 72 percent in 2011. Yet only 22 percent of those involved in multitasking are doing activities directly related to the programs they are watching.

Millennials, those in the 14-to-24 demographic, are the most active of multitaskers, doing four activities while watching TV.

You can read more about Deloitte’s Digital Democracy Survey here. Feel free to tell us what you think.