• by Diane Mermigas , January 11, 2008

The importance of studying and responding to consumer use of traditional and new digital media has reached a critical juncture. The widening gap between assuming and knowing media habits can be a make-or-break difference for businesses--especially in recessionary times.

Having turned the first corner in the digital revolution, the number of radical new devices and services is temporarily waning. While media-related companies reset their business plans and models, consumers are drilling down into refined interactive devices and platforms. Companies that need to leverage their resources for digital growth must master consumer need. The disappointing retail holiday sales and credit-card company results released Thursday amid bleak economic forecasts suggest that a smarter, more skillful use of digital services and devices is necessary. The continuing slide in technology and media stocks underscores these industries' vulnerability to reduced spending by consumers and companies.

Many of the vendors exhibiting at this week's Consumer Electronics Show get it. While there were no new product thresholds, many of the gadgets and services generally reflected a deeper understanding of how consumers of all ages want digital interactivity to be integrated in every aspect of their lives. Those attending the National Association of Television Program Executives conference later this month should heed the implications for their content part of the equation.

Indeed, consumers' swift adoption of digital interactivity to achieve more personalization, relevance and utility is profound. Consider that the touch-screen technology Apple's iPhone introduced less than a year ago was evident everywhere, on all kinds of devices, at CES. Similarly, larger, thinner television screens dominated CES--not as living-room shrines, but as ubiquitous monitors for every kind of content, communications and interactive service.

It is in that context that recent surveys of consumer media use published by Forrester Research provide glimpses of some surprising trends.

According to the North American Technologies Benchmark Survey published by Forrester Research, all adult consumers still devote more than twice as many hours in a typical week watching television as using the Internet. Gen Yers 18-27 are moving toward parody in spending as many hours online as watching TV. But they also spend nearly as much time watching DVDs--a hybrid activity on TVs, PCs and video-game consoles. It suggests what other surveys also reflect: Young consumers move fluidly from one media-related activity to another (whether interactive or passive) because a screen is a screen is a screen.

However, as interactivity becomes more pervasive and all of television goes digital in a year, more Boomer consumers will follow suit. So the increasing interactive attention and spending of consumers ages 42 to 62 is key. These 78 million Boomers (the single largest demographic segment) already make a healthy showing in an array of interactive activities--from managing and printing personal photos to conducting finance and security checks. The focus should be on how to increase maturing consumers' routine use of interactive devises for potentially profitable social networking--e-commerce, entertainment and communications --not a comparison to younger early adopter habits.

Some of the business opportunities will come as the lines blur between the average 16 hours a week that all surveyed adults said they watch some combination of television and DVDs, and the average three hours (in the case of seniors 63-plus) to 8.1 hours (in the case of GenYers ages 18-27) they spend weekly tending personal business on the Internet.

Some of the pastimes and functions driving new interactive media use are not what you might expect. For instance, one-quarter of all seniors and boomers (ages 42 to 62) surveyed say they play online games alone, compared to 32% of Gen Xers (ages 28-41), 41% of Gen Yers (ages 18 to 27), and nearly one-third of all U.S. adults online. That suggests a potentially healthy interactive game market for middle-aged and older consumers that is rarely discussed, except for online gambling. In fact, half or more of younger Boomers rival the 67% of Gen Yers who own and use video game consoles, the survey says.

Research and purchasing products online also crosses demographics at high levels, suggesting it is time for serious reform of legacy retail businesses. More than half of all adults surveyed are researching products for purchase, and about 40% are actually buying online (senior consumers being the only exception). Other surveys (such as this week's annual JWT Boom trend monitor) are posting more zealous estimates.

There are places where the lines of demarcation (like Gen Yers spending most time using media in aggregate) are fading as simpler, cheaper interactivity infuse everyday life. More than 60% of seniors have computer access and are regular email users. The fact that mature consumers spend nearly three times more time reading print media than GenYers suggests the activity could be transferred to the right kind of interactive platforms, such as Amazon's new Kindle electronic reader.

One thing is clear: Consumers will follow their passions and interests into the interactive world armed with the right kind of tools and support. So it's roll-up-your-sleeves time for media and tech companies wanting to make the most of the change.