How will you stand out in today’s crowded digital home market?

Diverse attitudes in the digital home: the seven digital home personas 

Our analysis of the findings has revealed seven distinct consumer segments, each with its own distinctive attributes, attitudes and priorities around digital home products and services:

• Premium and pleased: These affluent, urban consumers are most likely to be male and the sole decision-maker in their household, and to pay a premium for home connectivity, content and technology. However, they’re also very attracted by introductory offers. And while they find self-service options helpful, they have the highest readiness to pay more for better customer service. As a proportion of the customer base, this segment is most prominent in the US (16%) and the UK (14%) — and least prominent in France (7%). Service providers should take care to refresh their premium propositions regularly, since this group is alert to incentives to change providers.
  
  
• Digital devotees: More likely to be female and aged 45 to 54 than other personas, consumers in this segment exhibit high levels of smart home adoption and are the most likely to have multi-device streaming at home. They’re also the most concerned about children accessing harmful content and think service providers should improve their price guarantees. They also rely on the call center for support. They’re strongly focused on WiFi quality, seeking improved reliability from broadband providers and better-quality chatbots for customer service. This segment is biggest in Sweden (27%) and South Korea (26%), and smallest in Germany (13%). Service providers should make sure their customer promises and digital support tools stand up to scrutiny from these demanding but loyal customers.
  
  
• Informed savers: These older consumers spend as little as possible on connectivity services, ranking above average for value for money perceptions and satisfaction with overall services and customer support. They also have a below-average propensity to switch providers. Their savviness is reflected by the fact that they’re the least likely to find switching painful or pricing changes difficult to understand, and they exhibit above-average sensitivity to privacy, security and AI risks. Their biggest share of the consumer base is in France (18%), and their smallest in Switzerland and the US (both 11%). Service providers targeting this value segment should ensure attractive price points are accompanied by strong security credentials.
  
  
• Content comes first: These consumers are more likely to be male and the most likely to pay to watch sport on TV — but also think they overpay for content they don’t watch. They have a higher propensity than other personas to find the switching process complex and are the least likely to trust broadband providers to look after their data. Preferring familiar content, they’re sensitive to digital overload, preferring to seek time away from smartphones. They’re the largest segment in Italy (19%) but the smallest in Sweden (10%). Service providers should take care to reduce friction in customer journeys for this group, while ensuring their content propositions remain clear and compelling.
  
  
• Beyond the bundle: Exhibiting above-average interest in new technology or gadgets, and a high likelihood to pay a premium, these relatively young and affluent consumers have the highest propensity to switch. They state below-average satisfaction with their broadband providers and support experiences and are the most likely to want to cancel pay TV, moving to subscription video-on-demand only. They’re also the most receptive to exchanging personal data in return for tailored services, and the most worried about the negative impacts of being online on their well-being. Their highest consumer share is in the UK (15%) and lowest in Switzerland and Italy (both 10%). Better options to self-serve and customize hold the key to this group, who tend to look beyond traditional forms of service bundle and package.
  
  
• Disengaged users: While these consumers have average levels of home technology adoption, they’re the most likely to perceive a lack of differentiation between providers. They voice below-average perceptions of value for money, and below-average satisfaction with overall services and customer support – both contributing to an above-average propensity to switch. But they’re the least receptive to introductory offers and bundling propositions. Their numbers are largest in Switzerland and Germany (both 17%) but smallest in South Korea (9%). Service providers should ensure their value propositions are clear and compelling to make the most of this group’s latent demand and needs.
  
  
• Drowning in digital: The segment with the highest average age and most likely to live in rural areas, these consumers are the least likely to pay a premium, and the most likely to feel overwhelmed by the breadth of choice in the digital home market. Their resulting inertia is reflected in a below-average propensity to switch, despite low satisfaction with connectivity and content providers. They’re the most concerned about phishing or scam emails, and the least likely to feel in control of their online data. They’re the biggest segment in France (23%), but the smallest in the US (11%). Simpler products and services are vital for this group, backed by better levels of assistance during sales and support interactions.