Deloitte Technology, Media and Telecom Industry has released its latest annual report, the Global Digital Consumer Trends Survey – China Edition. The report is a result of extensive online research conducted by Deloitte over the past five years, focusing on consumer behaviours, trends, and perceptions of digital technologies, products, and services.

This year's research covered device ownership and usage, smartphone usage behaviours, data privacy and information tracking, preferences for entertainment activities such as gaming, perceptions of the metaverse, as well as 5G connectivity and digital consumption trends. We interviewed more than 2,000 Chinese consumers, ranging in age from 18 to 55, and covering all segments of the digital consumer, with the aim of obtaining diverse and detailed data to provide the industry with more representative and referable professional advice.

Device use
 

• Smartphone: Chinese consumers frequently use their phone for a plethora of digital activities. According to our survey, 90% of people use their smartphone everyday with a high dependence.

• Wearable gadgets: Wearable gadgets such as smartwatches are close to 70% of consumers will use them every day due to their technological features and portability. The youth age group are more used to monitoring health by smart devices such as smartwatches and fitness bands with more than 60% of them tracking steps and heartbeats.

• VR: 30% of consumers say they are not aware of virtual reality (VR) headsets, and 25% are less inclined to buy VR because of its high prices. Even if they already own VR, as the digital content is limited, male consumers have been tired of existing content. Female consumers do not use it frequently due to physical discomfort.

Smartphone
 

• Smartphone purchase: Around 80% of respondents reported their phone has been in use for less than 2 years; those aged 25-44 change their phone more frequently and are very concerned about whether hardware configuration such as processors, battery capacity, and storage space can meet their expectations.

• Device disposal: Respondents aged 18-24 tend to keep their old for backup use after buying a new one, while those aged 25 or above prefer to sell their old phone, with nearly 40% of them selling old phones through various channels.

• Carbon footprint: Around 70% consumers are concerned about the carbon footprint issue and trust the authenticity of carbon footprint information. They can tell the carbon footprint of their phone and would be inclined to buy more environmentally friendly devices.

Internet Connectivity
 

• 5G connectivity: People has recognized 5G for its high transmission speed and low latency. Users acknowledge that 5G is an inevitable trend for the future. A considerable number of respondents regularly use 5G, but people's understanding of the technology needs to be improved. Network coverage and connection stability still limit the further application and wider adoption of 5G, which needs to be solved.

Subscription
 

• Subscription: Many consumers are choosing video, music, and sports subscription services, which not only provide them with access to a wider variety of digital content, but also an ad-free, ultra-high-definition viewing experience.

• Ad-free: Compared to young people aged 18-24 (41%), those aged 35-44 (46%) are more willing to pay for ad-free subscriptions to avoid disturbance or interruption. People aged 25-34 are more tolerant to ads and less willing to pay for subscription, with those paying full price for subscription accounting for around 50%, and this age group is least interested in paid subscription (15%).

Entertainment
 

• Mobile game: Close to 80% of respondents play games on their smartphones, and still more than half of young people use PCs which was the most popular gaming device before the emergence of smartphones.

• Gaming consumption: In terms of purchasing game credits, over half the respondents have purchased game credits, and young people aged 18-34 are clearly more interested than middle-aged people. The spending of game credits is diversified, mainly used for decorative game skins (36%) and device upgrades (27%).

• Metaverse: People still know very little about the metaverse, with only 45% of respondents having a certain understanding of it. More than 60% of young people aged 25-34 are familiar with the concept, and 30% of respondents aged 45 and above say they have not heard of the metaverse.

Cyber threat
 

• Cyber security: In terms of four top concerns, including counterfeit goods, disinformation, cyber attacks and data privacy, more than 60% of respondents believe that governments and relevant regulators should take responsibility for addressing these threats.

• Privacy protection: Young people are more aware of privacy protection. 64%, 73%, and 75% of young people say they would avoid using a device, a service, or a feature due to privacy concerns.

• Personalized ads: Less than 40% of respondents regularly use search engines with default restrictions on advertising and deny application access, while 31% remain alert to this about half the time.

Consumption Trends

The Internet and new media are increasingly becoming an integral part of people's work, life, and entertainment. People’s spending on tech products, subscription services and the Internet has steadily increased. A significant portion of consumers expect their spending on these three things to increase (49%, 37%, 43%). Specifically, people are more willing to spend on new gadgets to upgrade intelligent products and services.