GfK: When will the recession end?
The latest report from GfK’s Laura Dollin looks at how the recession is affecting consumers’ media habits…
When will the recession end? This is the million-dollar question everyone wants the answer to. Whilst we can’t predict when the credit crunch will be over, it is possible to discover how the recession is affecting consumers, and what this means for the media industry.
GfK NOP recently conducted research amongst 1,000 people to find out what effect, if any, the recession is having on people’s media habits. Interestingly, the results showed that it is not all doom and gloom.
When asked outright, three-quarters of people said they did not think the recession had affected their media consumption. However, 4 in 10 people also said they were going out less since it started – suggesting that some people’s habits will have changed because of the increased amount of time they have at home. For those people, 70% were spending this time using the internet, and 60% were watching more TV and DVDs.
Indeed the PC seems to be the biggest winner of the recession. 7 in 10 people reported using the internet more for everything – from shopping around to compare prices and get a bargain, to using Facebook instead of their mobile to keep in touch with friends and family.
Another winner has been video-on-demand services, with one respondent commenting that “most programmes can now be found for free online”. Indeed, a third of people said they were now watching more TV content over the internet, or downloading programmes via an on-demand service such as BBC’s iPlayer.
One area that people identified as cutting back on was film. A third of people said they were spending less on going to the cinema, and the same proportion again had cut down on DVD spending. However DVDs were polarising opinion amongst consumers, as they were also the top item that people said they would spend money on – it seems that although DVDs are a ‘luxury’ item rather than a necessity, people would still spend less overall by buying a film than going out.
This polarising effect was also seen when looking at TV packages. Many consumers pinpointed their satellite or cable subscriptions as a key area for cutbacks, with 21% considering cancelling their package altogether or downgrading/looking for a better deal. Conversely however, 4% of those already with these services were thinking of upgrading their package, and 16% of those with free TV are thinking of paying for it in the near future.
The newspaper industry was also identified as bearing the brunt of the recession. A third of people were spending less on newspapers and magazines, by cancelling subscriptions or swapping publications for online content. In fact, there was a higher appetite for news overall – a third of people reported watching more news programmes since the recession – and this seems to be driving people to find content online. One respondent said “I try to keep more up to date with the latest news so I now use online news sites and watch online news clips more”.
Finally, we asked people what one type of TV programme they would like to see more of in the current climate. Unsurprisingly, results suggested that escapism is what people want from their recession TV, with the top answer being comedy, followed by gritty/crime drama.
Therefore, as we have discovered, the recession is not all bad news for the media industry. More people are staying in and engaging with media, and whilst some areas are not faring well, others, particularly those online, are benefiting as consumers adapt their habits and search out more for free.