This month we saw the latest Touchpoints data released, looking at behaviour across Jan-Mar, and giving the industry a fresh look at media consumption post (yet another) lockdown. In September, we saw initial changes to the landscape with OOH seeing particularly steep decreases; its time being replaced with traditional broadcast platforms such as TV and Radio which saw increases of 14% and 10% respectively. The latest edition observes whether initial behavioural changes have stayed the same or altered even further. 

During the first lockdown, consumers spent 2hrs 37m out of the home. This has gradually increased over the latest lockdown to 3hrs 55m with consumers feeling slightly more confident with regulations. This was driven by changes in both work and school as well as social activities such as cycling and visiting parks which all saw higher increases in 2021 versus lockdown one. Conversely, we saw acts of mindfulness decrease over lockdown 3; further corroborating consumers’ feeling more confident and potentially less anxious after adjusting to the new reality over the past year. This increased confidence and time outdoors has, ultimately, influenced OOH consumption too. Time spent consuming OOH has increased versus the first lockdown and returned to a 90% weekly reach against all adults, although the volume of time remains less than an hour, compared with nearly 3 hours per day spent on the mainstay TV. 

With AV leading the charge for media consumption during lockdown, it’s no surprise that we saw time per day increase across all platforms. Commercial linear TV saw an increase of 23 minutes a day whilst BVOD saw the highest percentage growth and now accounts for 10% of all viewing. Online video and SVOD together see nearly 30% of all AV consumption; the latter increasing a total of 16 minutes per day from pre-lockdown to lockdown 2021. It will be interesting to observe how AV consumption continues as we start returning to normal; the expectation being that on-demand viewing will only increase as our time in-home decreases. 

We also saw increases in audio; whilst live radio remains the core platform for consumption, overall time spent with audio was augmented by podcasts, which saw a 50% increase. This was potentially due to consumers switching from music streaming platforms, with Spotify and Apple Music seeing a decrease in the number of minutes’ listening per day. Audio habits also shifted across periods of the day with lower commuting numbers tending to move listening slots for consumers to later in the day. 

Finally, with Touchpoints’ time diary data, the7stars have been able to launch a new visualisation tool – JoyDex – giving us a clear view of how consumers are feeling throughout the day when exposed to different media, activities, people and locations. Combined with indicating where consumers are most likely to turn for trustworthy content, this gives us an effective perspective to tailor our comms and messaging to the right consumer mood, increasing relevance and opportunity to resonate.