A time of uncertainty and new opportunities

 

A time of uncertainty and new opportunities

As we mark more than a year of the pandemic, this report explores which of consumers' most significant digital habits are expected to shape daily life in the 'next normal'. It also studies the factors consumers believe will shape their societies and lifestyles in the year 2025, and what this will mean for ICT in their daily lives.

Key findings

01. Living through the pandemic is causing consumers to prioritize differently

Anything routine will happen online by 2025: 2 in 3 expect to use e-learning for upskilling and over half of consumers in the region believe all their entertainment activities will happen online. More than one-third will mainly order their groceries online going forward.

02. Consumers look to a future filled with opposing predictions

Sixty-seven percent expect heightened stress-levels within society: more than three in four believe that the majority will juggle multiple jobs to maintain a decent income. At the same time, 3 in 4 expect to lead healthier lives.

03. Convenience will come at the cost of privacy

As more of life's key activities are expected to move online, consumers expect their privacy concerns will increase. While 82 percent of consumers predict that life will be steered by convenience in 2025, 4 in 5 also expect to pay more attention to their online security and privacy.

04. Local shopping will lead the way

Driven partly by environmental concerns, half of consumers in the region expect to shop for more locally made products and produce as a new future norm.

05. Two in five of consumers express a concern for climate change and pollution, yet 74 percent are looking to increase their leisure travel going forward

There is a collective responsibility to make sustainable travel options accessible in order to address this growing interest. For the time being, 3 in 10 are expressing a will to refrain from flying when traveling for leisure in the future.

06. Consumers will have added 10 hours per week of online time, and 3.4 more services to their daily online activities as they enter the next normal

It's necessary to place digital inclusivity high on the agenda for rebuilding resilient future societies given consumers' expectations of expanding their digital habits by 2025.

About the Author 

Ericsson is one of the leading providers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to service providers. Ericsson enables the full value of connectivity by creating game-changing technology and services that are easy to use, adopt, and scale, making our customers successful in a fully connected world.

Lars Magnus Ericsson founded Ericsson 145 years ago on the premise that access to communications is a basic human need. Since then Ericsson has continued to deliver ground-breaking solutions and innovate technology for good.