• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, February 14, 2014

By at least one measure, nearly half of all consumers say they are now connected all the time. The measure, which is based on on a recent online survey conducted by Respondi for Vivaldi Partners Group, asked consumers to self-report whether they were “always on” based on the following criteria: used at least three Internet-connected devices, at least three times daily from at least three different locations, from at least three different locations daily over the past seven days. Based on that definition, 48% of the 574 respondents now consider themselves to be “always-on consumers.

It's difficult to say exactly what that is up from, because it is the first time Vivaldi conducted this particular research, but in its just-released “Always-On Consumer Study,” it compares it with previous studies conducted by Forrester Research over the past three years, suggesting that the percentage of always-on consumers has nearly doubled from just 25% in 2010 to 48% in 2013.

While the research is self-reported, and may not be directly comparable to Forrester’s past studies, the finding is noteworthy, because it shows a changing mindset on the part of consumers, who at least perceive themselves to be more hyper-connected than ever before.

The study is also interesting, because it breaks always-on consumers into five sub-segments (see graphic) suggesting that there are distinct differences among the always-on population in terms of why they are connected, how they perceive brands, their own data, and the relationship they have with media and devices.

The segmentation is a very marketer-centric perspective, but it is one of the first I've seen that at least attempts to understand the discrete nature of consumer intent driving always-on connectivity, and will be important to track over time.