Commentary

Cross-Screen Users Are All Over The Place

According to comScore and Millennial Media, in a new Cross-Screen study to inform brands and marketers on who the new world of cross-screen users are, the types of content they are consuming, and how they are most likely to use a specific device (over another), women aged 25-49, 80% are cross-screen users and 11% are mobile-only users, making this demographic the largest spending time on mobile.

The online, connected digital universe that accesses the Internet via PC and mobile devices is growing, and will continue to grow as device adoption, multiple device ownership, and access to faster network connections develop around the globe, says the report. Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable moving across a number of devices to stay connected and consume content.

Examples of Findings

  • The total digital universe that accesses the Internet via PC or mobile device has grown 4% in the last year to 201 million users. The mobile-only user base has grown at 9 times this rate and PC-only users have decreased at 11 times this rate.
  • PC & Mobile users ages 18-24 grew 9 percentage points in the year, while their time spent on smartphones grew 20%.
  • Mobile technology is helping baby boomers jump to a mobile only (and non-PC) world. Mobile users aged 50+ have grown their number of cross-device users in the last year by 19%, while the number of aged 50+ PC-only users decreased 19%.

The digital universe that accesses the Internet via PC or mobile device has grown to over 200 million people in the U.S. alone. As the number of connected adults has grown, so have the amount of cross-screen users. In fact, 70% of digital users are now cross-device, up from 63% a year ago.

Since April 2013, the digital universe has grown 4%. Mobile only users have grown at 9x this rate, while PC only users have decreased 45% during the same period.

  • Adults 18+: 201M Monthly Users +4%
  • Mobile only: 19M +36%
  • Mobile and PC: 141M +16%
  • PC only: 40M – 45%
  • Total Mobile Users: 160M
  • Smartphone: 128M +17%
  • Tablet: 35M +13%

This report follows four main demographic groups throughout: adults 18-24, men 25-49, women 25-49, and adults 50 and over. Men and women 25-49 have the largest percentage of cross-screen (PC and mobile) users, an average of 79%. 62% of adults over the age of 50 are cross-screen, but this group has the smallest percentage of mobile only users (2%). Conversely, adults 18-24 have the largest group of mobile only users, 15% of this demographic. 

Multi-Screen Users by Demographic

Users

Mobile Only

Mobile+PC

PC Only

Adults 18-24

15%

67%

18%

Adults 50+

2

62

36

Women 25-49

11

80

9

Men 25-49

7

78

15

Source: millennial media/comScore, May 2014

PC & Mobile users over the age of 50 saw the largest increase, up 19 percentage points year-over-year. PC users over the age of 50 saw the largest decrease, down 19 percentage points year-over-year.

While there are 141 million cross-screen users in the U.S., the amount of time spent on each device is different, and varies further by demographic. In 2014, the amount of time spent on smartphones surpassed PCs, in terms of both total minutes spent and as a percentage of total time. Time spent on smartphones grew 7% year-over-year, while time spent on PCs decreased 8%. Tablets grew slightly at 2%.

While the total time on digital devices has grown 12% year-over-year, time spent on PC has decreased 6%. Time on smartphones and tablets has grown at triple and double the overall rate, respectively.

Smartphone Tablet PC U.S.; January 2013 & 2014.

 

Bil Minutes (± %)

Year

Smartphone

Tablet

PC

January 2013

350B

107B

499B

January 2014

472 +24%

134 +35%

470 – 6%

Source: millennial media/comScore, May 2014

Women 25-49 spend more time on both smartphones and tablets than any other demographic (55% smartphones, 13% tablets). Time spent on smartphones grew for all demographics year-over-year, while time spent on tablets grew the most year-over-year for adults over the age of 50, growing 87%. 

Time Spent on Smartphones

 

Smartphone

Tablet

PC

Total Audience

44%

12%

44

Adults 18-24

35

10

55

Men 25-49

49

10

41

Women 25-49

32

13

55

Adults 50+

56

15

29

Source: millennial media/comScore, May 2014

Combining engagement by demographic and content shows how different demographic groups spend their time in certain content categories across devices. Certain key groups skew more heavily towards mobile for certain content, while the opposite is true for others.

Games is a category that has a mobile majority across all demographics, averaging 83% of time spent on mobile devices. Within the category, adults over the age of 50 spend the highest Percentage of time playing games on tablets.

Games Share of Market By Device

Category

Smartphone

Tablet

PC

Adults 18-24

65%

10%

25%

Men 25-49

70

17

13

Women 25-49

65

25

10

Adults 50+

47

35

18

Source: millennial media/comScore, May 2014

For streaming Radio, smartphones are the leading device across all demographics, averaging 80% of time spent. Tablets follow, averaging 16% across all groups.

Radio Share of Market By Device

Category

Smartphone

Tablet

PC

Adults 18-24

82%

16%

2%

Men 25-49

85

8

7

Women 25-49

75

21

4

Adults 50+

74

18

8

Source: millennial media/comScore, May 2014

For Retail content, more differences are shown in time spent across devices for each demographic. Women 25-49 and adults 18-24 spend more than 50% of their time in Retail content on mobile devices. Women 25-49 and adults over the age of 50 spend the highest amount of time in Retail on tablets. 

Retail Content Share of Market By Device

Category

Smartphone

Tablet

PC

Adults 18-24

46%

10%

44%

Men 25-49

36

11

53

Women 25-49

47

17

36

Adults 50+

25

17

58

Source: millennial media/comScore, May 2014

Business  & Finance content is accessed via smartphones more often by adults 18-24, as this mobile savvy group is likely more comfortable with mobile banking and payments than other demographics. 

Business & Finance Share of Market By Device

Category

Smartphone

Tablet

PC

Adults 18-24

72%

1%

27%

Men 25-49

38

2

60

Women 25-49

37

2

61

Adults 50+

23

3

74

Source: millennial media/comScore, May 2014

For additional information on the study and access to the complete PDF file, please visit here.

 

 

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