Data from newly released report conducted by Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) shows that consumers spent an average of four hours per day on their smartphones during COVID-19 - up ten minutes per day when compared to mobile usage pre-pandemic.
When looking at types of apps, time spent on personal finance/trading mobile apps grew the most during the pandemic year (63%). This growth was fueled by Gen Z consumers who clocked an 102% increase in total hours. Time spent among all consumers on social media apps increased by 25% during the pandemic, and accounts for the most amount of time consumers spent on their phones––more than an hour per day.
GWS’ report offers unique insights into consumer mobile behavior during the first year of COVID (March 2020 - February 2021), highlighting how usage has changed when compared to the prior 12 months. GWS obtained this data through its opt-in OneMeasure Consumer Panel, which evaluates the mobile app usage and content of ~80,000 consumers located across the U.S.
Other key takeaways from The Pandemic Year in Mobile Apps report include a more in-depth look at a day in the life of a consumer as seen through interactions with their smartphones. In particular, the following provides key insights into how consumers spent their time accessing certain types of apps during the pandemic. And since not all consumers are the same - some may focus more on lifestyle apps (such as shopping, dining, and directions), games, or finance - GWS looked at 'power users' for these categories as well (i.e., consumers who spent 20% more time than the national average in a given category):
Dr. Paul Carter, GWS Founder and CEO
We expect that sustained consumer mobile behavior changes will have a lasting effect on how consumers engage with businesses over the long term, and will be a major aspect to establishing what normal looks like now.
