Tag: mobile technology trends

Mobile technology has propelled Canada to the top of internet use

As a result of smartphones and tablets, Canadians now spend more time online than people in other countries.

Although spending a great deal of time online is a popular activity for people in countries throughout the world, the penetration of mobile technology devices has sent Canada to the top of the list of internet use.

Canadians now use the world wide web a great deal more than people from any other country in the world.

A recent comScore Canada study’s results have shown that people in the country spend an average of 36.3 hours per month browsing and visiting about 80 different websites. Comparatively, Americans spend about 35.2 hours online per month, and people in the United Kingdom spend closer to 33 hours online per month. The study also revealed that mobile technology played a very large role in the amount of internet use that Canadians had.

Mobile technology such as smartphones and tablets considerably boosted the internet usage across the country.

Mobile Technology - CanadaMobile devices were accessed a considerable amount, boosting the use of the internet above what it would have been if Canadians were using laptops, netbooks, and desktop options, alone. The research also determined that the subscriptions to various mobile apps and publications increased by five percent throughout 2014, reaching 24 million people.

That said, for the most part, when it comes to mobile users, the internet is being used primarily for visiting Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, above all else. When it came to actual net surfing, reading, and other online activities, many Canadians still clearly preferred laptops and desktops. Shopping played a large role in the extensive internet usage of Canadians, but, again, this was primarily conducted over computers instead of mobile devices, particularly when the actual purchases were being made.

comScore also reported that Canadians are not only using mobile technology a great deal, but they’re also remaining on the pages that they visit for a longer period of time than other people from around the world. In Canada, people spend time on slightly more than 3,000 pages per month. This is notably lower than countries such as Russia, which spends far less time on the internet. This suggests that Canadians are spending a lot more time on each page that they visit than their counterparts from other countries.

Mobile technology and the internet blamed for droop in brick and mortar shopping

A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has pointed the finger at smartphones for U.K. retail reduction.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has released the results of its research, which was based on information compiled by The Local Data Company, which revealed that the United Kingdom suffered a net loss of 987 brick and mortar retail stores, last year, and it has placed the blame on factors such as mobile technology.

This rate of store closures represented an average of 16 per day, across the country, which is a massive increase.

The year before, the figure of store closures in the U.K. was three times lower, when a total of 371 closures had been recorded. On the whole, in 2014, there were 5,839 stores that closed their doors forever, while there were 4,852 new store openings. Among the stores that closed, two out of every three were in the clothing and footwear categories. Mobile technology stores, money services, and bank branches also faced serious difficulties. That said, some types of stores broke away from that trend and managed to thrive, including discount shops such as Poundland, coffee shops, charity shops, smoke shops/e-cigarettes, and betting shops.

Mobile technology and the internet were said to have played an important role in these trends.

Mobile Technology and shoppingAccording to The Local Data Company director, Matthey Hopkinson, “Our town centers continue to evolve away from traditional shops and services to leisure – food, beverage and entertainment.” He also added that “This is reflected by American and British restaurants featuring in the top 10 risers along with the impact of click and collect services showing a 20% growth in 2014.”

Mike Jervis, a retail specialist at PwC, explained that mobile tech and the internet as a whole played an important part in the retail shop downturns, speeding up the rate of store closures as consumer behavior continues to undergo an evolution through the use of these types of tech.

Mark Hudson, PwC retail leader, explained that by watching the “work and play” behaviors of “digital natives”, it will be possible to better predict the future. This means that it will be important to keep a particular eye on those who have grown up with mobile technology, online shopping, and broadly available broadband, as they will have a considerably different relationship with brick and mortar stores than any of the generations that have come previous to them.