Fears Over Fake News & Privacy – Deloitte Unveils Trends For A Post-Pandemic Australia

The COVID pandemic has had a significant impact on the way consumers engage with digital technologies according to the findings in the second edition of Deloitte’s annual Digital Consumer Trends survey report (previously the Mobile Consumer Survey).

Deloitte Consulting Partner and National Telecommunications Lead, Peter Corbett said COVID-19 has very clearly acted as a major catalyst when it comes to our adoption of digital technologies.

“In 2020, and driven largely by lockdown-induced working from home, we purchased more devices, we used smartphones more than ever, we embraced telehealth and virtual appointments, we turned more to remote and touchless payments, and we increased time spent on social media and streaming services,” Corbett said.

The key findings of the report are:

• Fake news
• 79% of respondents see fake news as a problem in today’s media landscape
• 53% consider news from traditional providers as trustworthy, compared to only 18% for social media platforms
• Privacy
• 85% of Australias are aware that their data is used by companies with 73% concerned about privacy
• 32% stopped using social media platforms in the last 12 months, and 28% cited privacy concerns as a reason
• Connectivity and 5G
• 33% made a change to their home internet service, most commonly moving to higher speeds
• 14% now have a 5G service, up from 6% in 2020
• Device ownership and useage
• 38% of consumers have purchased a digital device as a direct result of the pandemic
• Touchless payments
• 85% have used a smartphone to make an in-store payment, up from 58% in 2020.

Not all news is good news

Fake news is a top-of-mind concern for many Australians, and has been particularly so during COVID, when access to trusted news has been particularly important.

“When it comes to our preferred news sources, traditional media, such as TV, continues to dominate, followed by apps and websites affiliated with a news provider or newspaper. In contrast, social media as a news source does not receive the same favour,” Corbett said.

“Trust concerns, particularly among older consumers present a particular challenge for social media platforms as they look to keep older demographics engaged, but also highlights an ongoing question around the way in which they engage younger demographics.”

Post-pandemic privacy

Scanning QR codes and sharing vaccination status have made Australians more aware of their personal data, who it is shared with and how it is used. While the level of concern over how businesses use consumer data has reduced, many Australians are unsure if the benefit they receive from sharing their data outweighs their data privacy concerns.

“Some consumers certainly see the benefits of sharing their data, such as better personalisation of information and advertising, but there is also evidence of self-regulation of data sharing through selective permissions in apps and cancelling of services or platform subscriptions because of privacy concerns. These evolving attitudes, combined with expected updates to the Australia’s Privacy Act in the next 12-18 months, make for an absorbing start to the world of post-pandemic privacy,” Corbett said.

“For businesses, it is critical that they find a balance here, while still capturing the data required to enable exceptional digital experiences. Developing smarter consent strategies, allowing consumers to understand and maintain more opt-in control over data usage and user-friendly consent management will need to be considerations.”

The connectivity wave and 5G adoption 

In the last 18 months, the virtual world has been a lifeline for many, and one that has instigated shifts and upgrades in home connectivity. Meanwhile, Australia’s 5G rollout has continued at full steam, and while adoption is expected to continue to grow, the pace of growth will be determined by factors such as device compatibility, MVNO availability and the relevance of 5G in smartphone purchase decisions.

“The connectivity landscape looks different for Australian consumers in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic,” Corbett said.

“Take-up of 5G has doubled since 2020 to 14 per cent which is high compared to other geographies, and we have also seen consumers make improvements to home connectivity with 33 per cent of respondents changing their home internet service since the start of the pandemic with speed upgrades being the top reason to change.

Devices

Pandemic purchasing of tech devices in 2021 found a new gear, with 38 per cent of respondents purchasing at least one tech device in 2021 up from 26 per cent in 2020. Laptops, smartphones and TVs were the favourite devices with most device categories experiencing a bump.

“The spike has a potential flow-on impact to the uptake of new technologies such as 8K TVs and 5G smartphones. Consumers who purchased a 4K TV or 4G enabled smartphone in the last 12 months will likely wait a number of years before their next refresh, potentially impacting the mass adoption of the latest technologies,” Corbett said.

“Ownership of wearable devices have also continued to grow, while purchasing has also broadened out into the long tail of consumer devices connected in the home, such as smart appliances, lighting and hub devices. On this front, there is clear potential for hardware providers to bundle services to support, for example, home security and energy monitoring via the likes of apps, cloud services, software upgrades, support and installation, and subscription business models.”

Touchless payments

Mobile digital wallets are now mainstream and being used by 85 per cent of Australians. Payments using our wrists are also growing with 10 per cnet of respondents preferring payments using a wearable device.

Deloitte consulting partner, and national technology, media and telecommunications leader, Will Castles said mobile digital wallets are becoming more mainstream, but that is not the only digital payments trend to emerge from the pandemic.

“The fintech-driven payments landscape is clearly opening up, with Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platforms increasing in popularity, and consumer uptake of peer-to-peer payment apps and QR code (eQR) payments providing other spaces to watch,” Castles said.

“Businesses should look to take advantage of these mainstream shifts in digital behaviour and focus on designing products and services with a broader and now more tech-savvy, as well as eco-conscious, consumer in mind.”