COVID-19 opened consumers' eyes: we cannot do without the internet

Information and communication technologies accompany consumers through almost all their everyday activities. It is therefore no surprise that they helped many people overcome the uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis. From March onwards, activities that had until then been firmly linked to the off-line world began to move into the virtual environment.

TIP: Also read our previous article Will 5G networks cause another wave of COVID-19?

• 90% of people around the world spend more time online because of the pandemic than they did before it
• One fifth of people started using online services during the coronavirus crisis that they had not needed before, for example e-learning apps or video calls
• The average time spent connected to a fixed network increased by 2.5 hours a day. For mobile 4G networks, there was an average increase of one hour a day

“Hardly anyone would have thought at the start of the year that the vast majority of workers would suddenly start working from home, that lessons would be taught remotely, or that doctors would help their patients through video calls,” says Jiří Rynt, Key Account Manager at Ericsson.

More time online

Ericsson carried out consumer research in which it asked smartphone users how the coronavirus pandemic had affected their everyday lives and how their behaviour had changed in terms of using modern technologies. 90% of people around the world now spend more time online because of the pandemic. One fifth of the population was forced by circumstances to learn to use online applications they had not used before. Most often these were e-learning apps or services providing video calls.

Consumers consider a variety of activities important, from good-quality video calls with family and friends to access to work documents in the cloud. The changes in consumer behaviour brought about by the pandemic are very likely to be reflected in future technology trends. The Ericsson study presents five predictions for the period after the coronavirus pandemic:

1. The value of a network connection: 3 out of 4 consumers consider a reliable internet connection key during the current crisis, and believe it may play an even more crucial role in future crises.
2. Autonomous commerce: 55% of consumers believe that drones with automated delivery or driverless cars could replace couriers, as demand for contactless interactions grows.
3. Workplaces without borders: 6 out of 10 workers think remote working will become the new standard. They expect employers to support remote working as a normal way of working once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
4. Remote healthcare: It is expected that this year six times as many people in the USA will use online consultations with doctors as in 2019.
5. The economy of virtual experiences: 7 out of 10 virtual reality users say that in the future, a person's status will be defined more by virtual symbols than by the physical ownership of things. Half of consumers could start using artificial intelligence to entertain themselves, acquire new knowledge and make friends.

The pandemic has also changed consumers' views of 5G, in a positive sense. Consumers realise that 5G may have allowed them to benefit from faster connection speeds when working remotely. 5G-supported robots could have helped during the crisis by measuring temperatures or disinfecting spaces. As a result, the time medical staff had to spend with infectious patients could have been reduced.

Updated 15 March 2024