New research from Google Canada shows that when Canadians are using more than one screen at a time, they’re usually doing it without planning to and using them for reasons unrelated to what’s showing on screen number one.
At Wednesday’s IAB Canada X-Series conference on audience measurement, Google presented a Canadian market study on how and why we multiscreen. (Yes, it’s a verb now.) Between Oct. 15 and Nov. 1 this year, Google and Ipsos Reid conducted an online survey of 2,058 Canadians aged 18-64 that have a smartphone and a second device (TV, computer or tablet) in their home.
The results are surprising. Multiscreening is far more pervasive than originally thought — among the 50% of Canadians that own smartphones, virtually everyone has a computer (99%) and/or a TV (88%), and 87% use two or more of those devices simultaneously at least once a week. More than half (51%) say they always have their smartphone or tablet with them when watching TV, and 41% say that they use their mobile device to pass the time when they get bored of show or commercials.
Users estimate they multiscreen for about five hours a week on average, but Ipsos Reid senior vice-president Mary Beth Barbour suggested they were underreporting, based on a finding in the IAB’s Canadian Media Usage Trends report that Canadians’ weekly cumulative media use rose from 8 hours in 2001 to 11 hours per week in 2013. Since our leisure time has not significantly expanded, she argued, the extra media time must be coming from overlapping time spent on multiple devices.
Although multiscreening is nearly universal among smartphone users, that didn’t turn out to be the news broadcast innovators and multiscreen developers were hoping for. Almost three quarters (70%) of the time that users pick up a second device, they’re doing it spontaneously and using it for something unrelated to what’s going on on the primary device. Only 9% of simultaneous interactions were planned and related across devices – a much smaller pie slice for mobile apps designed to complement TV programming.
“To be clear, among simultaneous users, a large proportion feel that typically activities between the two devices do not have a relationship,” said Barbour. “I know it might be disappointing to some people in the room.”
The most common reasons for turning to a second device were to communicate with others and to search for something online. The third most-likely reason was to continue whatever activity they were performing on the first device, whether it was communicating, surfing the web or viewing media. (Note the same activity on a different device isn’t necessarily related content-wise — for example a consumer might turn from a TV show to watch a YouTube video on their smartphone.)
“During simultaneous usage, content viewed on one device can trigger specific behaviour on another,” said Owen Charlebois, Google Canada’s head of market insights, in his presentation with Barbour. “Businesses should therefore not limit their conversion goals and calls-to-action to only the device where the consumer was initially exposed.”
He emphasized that search drives much multiscreen use. “Not only should brands give consumers the opportunity to find them with multi-device search campaigns, strategies such as keyword parity across devices can ensure consumers can find the brand when resuming their search.”
During the IAB event, Google summed up its findings in 10 points:
Multiscreen behaviour among smartphone users is pervasive
87% of smartphone users multiscreen at least once a week. With the accelerating penetration of mobile devices, multiscreening is expected to grow.
Most media time is screen-based
86% of time spent with media is on a computer, smartphone, tablet or TV.
The device we choose is driven by context, but there are consistent use cases across devices
In particular, communications and search are the most common reasons to pick up a second device.
Simultaneous device use can enhance the TV viewing experience, but it can also be a distraction
Survey responses suggest that, as Charlebois put it, “TV is losing its ability to command our full attention.”
Communications, search and multimedia are, in order, the top three multiscreen activities
Most simultaneous device use involves multitasking
70% of multiscreen interactions are spontaneous and unrelated to the activity on the primary device.
Multiscreening makes smartphone users feel efficient
37% said they felt more efficient after multiscreening, and 29% said it made them feel like effective multitaskers. “They can act spontaneously and achieve a sense of accomplishment,” Charlebois explained. “This results in feelings of found time.”
Smartphones play a critical role in the path-to-purchase process
58% of smartphone owners use it while shopping, and 52% use it while in a brick-and-mortar store.
Portable screens allow us to move easily from one device to another to achieve a task
Of those who initiate purchase behaviour on their smartphone, 40% will continue on another device, and 37% will continue in store.
Mobile advertising is driving consumer actions
Of the 42% of smartphone users who saw a mobile ad in the last month, 24% looked for more info, 22% made a purchase, and 21% visited a store. “The more situationally relevant the ad, the stronger the appeal it is likely to generate,” Charlebois said.
