• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, January 11, 2021

Just in time for CES, GroupM has unveiled research that finds that a little over half (54.3%) of consumers believe it’s important to be equipped with the latest technology.

And more than 80% of respondents believe that either they or a family member should be the only ones with access to health and fitness tracker data, with less than 7% believing that device and software makers should have access.

Conducted in December, GroupM surveyed 1,000 consumes on their attitudes toward technology across six general categories: attitudes toward technology, information sharing and privacy, virtual reality-based devices and services, smart appliances, mobile devices and digital services, such as visual search, streaming audio and streaming video.

The study also found that “virtual travel experiences” have mixed appeal. The higher the income, the more likely a consumer would respond “yes” to having a like visiting a museum or a foreign city. Overall, males across each age group showed higher interest in such experiences.

Nearly half of those surveyed (48%) agreed they would like a home appliance to “automatically order replacements when I am running out of related products” like a washing machine ordering new detergent or a refrigerator ordering food.

Just over half (51.5%) indicated they have a 5G device such as a mobile phone that can connect to a 5G network. Among the half of the population without a 5G connected device, 59.6% of 35-54s said they expect to buy one in the next year, while 45.2% of 18-34s said the same.

Over 96% of respondents used an Amazon or Apple connected product to help with their shopping. 

In order to maintain a lower monthly bill for streaming services, 66% of respondents said they would accept having to watch commercials. 

See more from the GroupM research effort here.