Commentary

Four Of Five Americans Play Mobile Games In The Bedroom

According to a new study from PayPal, the “Digital Goods Economy Survey”, which looks at the attitudes, habits and behaviors of the digital media consumer across digital and video gaming, and eBook industries, only 25% of Americans surveyed indicated that they wanted to only own books digitally, while 41% stated that they “prefer a mix of both hard copies and eBooks.

More than 15% of U.S. males surveyed reported spending $30-$49, and 10% stated that they spent $50-$69, over the past three months on sites such as YouTube and Twitch. In addition, says the report, 83% of Americans surveyed stated that they had played mobile games in their bedrooms in the last three months, with 72% reporting playing video games on their PC/Mac or Laptop.

A large segment of respondents indicated that they play games in the office ranging from mobile games (30%), PC/Laptop games (13%), and console games (10%).

Melissa O’Malley, Director, Global Initiatives at PayPal, says “… the research insights help merchants better understand how consumers are spending their time and money with digital goods… to cater to this growing audience… “ 

 Key findings from the U.S. research include:

  • 78% of U.S. respondents use smartphones when asked which devices they used to play digital games, versus 59% using a tablet, and 47% a laptop. According to SuperData Research, the 2016E mobile games market will be worth $37.6 billion, accounting for 49% of the total 2016E $77.3 billion worldwide games market.
  • 60% of U.S. respondents read eBooks on their tablets, while 66% purchase eBooks because they are cheaper than buying a hard copy and can read it right away, says the report. 42% say that they buy/download an eBook immediately after becoming interested in it for the first time; impulse eBook buyers to whom merchants can cater.
  • 40% of respondents play their console video games one to two hours for each session, with 34% playing for two to four hours. This was greater than the time spent on PC/Mac or laptop games, mobile video games and eBooks, says the report. The 30-minute to one-hour range was the highest for both eBooks (38%) and mobile games (31%).

The report concludes by suggesting that console gaming session length highlights an opportunity for relevant in-game ads/branded content, as the audience is making a longer time commitment per session and thus third-party content is less disruptive. Additionally, for mobile games and eBooks, creating shorter marketing content to fill the desired time window will resonate with consumers looking to spend less time consuming content, says the report. 

  To view the full U.S. results from the research survey, please visit here.

 

2 comments about "Four Of Five Americans Play Mobile Games In The Bedroom".
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  1. Michael Kelly from GigaMarketing/Communication, November 7, 2016 at 3:19 p.m.

    The headline and to some extent, the article is misleading since there is no mention that the findings only apply to people who people in the sample, and in this case, it is people who pay for digital content online and who were recruited from online panels.  Still good information but to have a headline that says it applies to the us population is misleading.  These days, market research has to strive to a higher level of care and truth than ever before, lest it become just another source of opinion, masquerading as truth.

  2. Jack Loechner from Mediapost Communications, November 7, 2016 at 7:35 p.m.

    ... no arguments, Michael, the cohort (attitudes, habits and behaviors of the digital media consumer across digital and video gaming, and eBook industries) was not clearly enough identified... sorry, and thanks for the note, jack

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