Smartphone usage which had peaked during the lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 is now slowly dropping below pre-COVID levels with people slowly getting back to their normal routines. The drop has also been majorly due to the ban on certain apps.
As per Nielsen estimates the consumption in unlock phase 3 is at 3 hrs 14 mins per day whereas pre-lockdown the same was at 3 hrs 22 mins per day. During the middle of lockdown, smartphone consumption had peaked at 3 hrs 54 mins per day.
The drop has been seen across all target audiences cutting across gender, age-groups, metros, and non-metro cities. Chat/VOIP and gaming have continued to attract users while calling and social networking has seen a major drop. The drop is higher among females for calling while the decline in social networking is pegged at ban on apps.
With schools, colleges, and offices still operating mainly from home the usage of apps for online education and video conferencing has been a major surge by over 100% compared to pre-COVID levels. The usage of trading, payments, and fitness apps continue to show an increase as consumers are getting used to new ways.
Shopping has hit a new high in recent times while consumers continue to be cautious of ordering food. Shopping has risen over the pre-COVID levels while food-ordering is still yet to match pre-COVID levels.
