Digital devices fly off shelves

One in five UK adults (21%) purchased at least one new digital device as a result of spending more time at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Deloitte’s Digital Consumer Trends 2020 report.

In total, up to 21.2 million digital devices were purchased during the first two months of the lockdown period, including two million printers and monitors.

The researchers found that UK adults used 170.3 devices daily during the first two months of lockdown, equating to 3.5 devices on average per person.

Games consoles, laptops, smart speakers and eReaders saw the highest uptick in usage. Among those who own the devices, daily usage of games consoles rose by 10 percentage-points, with 44% of owners saying they used their console daily, up from 34% in 2019. Meanwhile, daily smart speaker usage jumped from 59% to 66%, and laptops usage was up from 67% to 73%.

Interestingly fitness bands and smart watches both experienced a decline in usage as consumers spent more time at home.

Deloitte’s report found that TV’s (bought by 6%), smartphones (6%), laptops (6%), and games consoles (5%) were the most popular devices bought during lockdown. That means three in five (59%) of consumers now have access to a smart TV. However, ownership of desktop or tower computers fell from 45% to 405 in 2020.

Overall, Deloitte’s research finds that UK adults now have access to 5.1 digital devices on average, totalling more than 250 million devices across the UK, and this peaks among high earners. For those with an annual income of less than £13,500, 72% own or have access to a digital device. Compared to 94% of those earning more than £75,000.