Reshape to relevance - Accenture’s 2019 consumer survey

Accenture surveyed 22,500 online consumers in 21 countries to reveal key trends in consumer preferences.

Here are the three key findings from the 2019 Accenture Digital Consumer Survey:

Digital voice assistants become part of the furniture

Voice continues its rise as the new user interface - and it's a global phenomenon.

Half of online consumers now use a Digital Voice Assistant (DVA), with people in China, the UAE, India and Mexico leading the way.

The use of standalone DVAs (ie smart speakers such as Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple HomePod) in the United States has outstripped embedded DVA use in smartphones and other devices.

Based on anticipated purchases, standalone DVA is now on track to be one of the fastest adopted technologies in US history.

While there is some concern around privacy and data collection from DVAs, if companies focus on establishing trust and transparency, they will see overall growth.

50% of respondents use Digital Voice Assistants, up from 42% one year ago.

57% users of stand-alone DVA use their smartphone for fewer activities.

41% of smart speaker owners say they have privacy (who is listening?) and 40% have security concerns (how is my data used?) when using their voice assistants.

Extended reality breaks out of its gaming niche

Extended Reality (XR) is emerging as a solution to diverse consumer challenges.

Ownership of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality headsets is growing, and consumers have experience from a broader set of services beyond gaming.

Functional use cases and problem-solving through XR ranks high in consumer interest, making room for businesses to redefine how they deliver services.

37% of consumers have tried XR services, most for private use.

Reimagining the over-the-top (OTT) video market

Providers in the over-the-top (OTT) market have a major paid content opportunity before them.

Subscription TV is declining, with many subscribers feeling they pay for content that is uninteresting to them.

However, video on demand subscriptions are on the rise for younger demographics and free digital video continues to grab attention.

Companies must seek out alternative video business models, and ensure that it relevant, to improve customer value.

50% say subscription video has a relevance problem, as half of video subscribers globally continue to pay for content they don't care about.

30% of consumers are willing to pay to remove ads, signifying the importance of ad-supported options beyond subscription.

44% of global video consumers are willing to share personal data in exchange for something.

Next steps

Providers of consumer technology and services need to make sure they're moving in synch with changing consumer preferences by offering products and services that are:

• Intelligent, flexible and scalable to customers' needs
• Able to tightly integrate with other products and services
• Highly trustworthy
• Available to consumers, when and where they need them
• Optimised for consumer value