2025
9
UK Digital Lives of Consumers Report 2025
2025-04-29T18:02:52+00:00
REPD90A38EE_9754_4E5E_AE25_6046A40F82A0
2195
181636
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Report
en_GB
73% of Gen Z have made 'meaningful connections' with people online, that they have never met in person. Coupled with consumer comfort in making large…
UK
Technology
Consumer Insights
simple

UK Digital Lives of Consumers Report 2025

"Despite some evidence of digital overwhelm, most consumers are happy with their smartphone usage. Brands can focus on ways to enhance digital lives through convenient automated services."

Joe Birch, Senior Analyst – Technology & Leisure

Joe Birch, Senior Analyst – Technology & Leisure

73% of Gen Z have made ‘meaningful connections’ with people online, that they have never met in person. Coupled with consumer comfort in making large purchases online, it emphasises how digital interactions continue to shape and redefine various aspects of daily life.

46% of consumers have felt ‘uneasy’ after seeing an online advert relating to a verbal discussion. Concerns over privacy and tech intrusion can erode consumer trust and engagement in the online space. To mitigate these concerns, brands must prioritise transparency in data usage practice.

Technology will continue to provide consumers with the convenient shortcuts in their everyday lives. Many pain points in online life could be helped by automating less enjoyable tasks. AI powered digital IDs can one day be used for tasks such as queuing for online tickets and proactively stopping online threats such as scams.

This report looks at the following areas:

  • An in-depth look at the role of the smartphone in consumers’ digital lives, from how much time they spend on their devices, to how comfortable they are with their screen time, and the trade off between utility and digital fatigue
  • A look at the day in the life of a digital consumer: how the use of various apps and services changes throughout the day, and the strategies brands can use to engage with consumers in these moments
  • How brands can leverage tools to streamline digital interactions and create more convenient shortcuts to reduce consumers’ least enjoyable tasks online
  • Exploring consumer attitudes towards their digital lives, and how brands can leverage online behaviours and attitudes to build products and services to engage and serve consumers
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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • Opportunities for the digital lives of consumers
    • Tap into consumers’ daily routines with tailored and time conscious digital touch points
    • Mobile is still key, but tools for efficiency and moderation can reduce fatigue and streamline online actions
    • Focus on automation to take away consumer pain points
    • Market dynamics and outlook
    • Market outlook for the digital lives of consumers
    • Technology and digital channels are integral to consumers’ lives
    • What consumers want and why
    • Prioritise mobile-first design to engage consumers where they spend the most time
    • Graph 1: daily time spent on smartphone, 2025
    • Younger smartphone users are less happy with their use
    • Graph 2: daily time spent on smartphone, by generation 2025
    • Tap into morning routines with bite-sized information and geo-targeted ads
    • Graph 3: activities undertaken on smartphone just after waking up, 2025
    • Graph 4: activities undertaken on a smartphone while travelling, 2025
    • Win the relaxation moment with timely tie-ups and sponsorships
    • Graph 5: activities undertaken on a smartphone while relaxing at home, 2025
    • Highlight how technology can solve pain points in consumer interaction
    • Graph 6: consumer digital pain points, 2025
    • Consumers are looking for the trade off between personalisation and privacy
    • Graph 7: attitudes towards digital life, 2025
    • Prioritise convenience, security and moderation to serve consumers’ digital lives
    • Graph 8: attitudes towards digital life, 2025
    • Innovation and marketing
    • AI hype builds with major deployments on device
  2. MARKET DYNAMICS

    • Market drivers
    • Consumer confidence is still fragile
    • Graph 9: index of financial sentiment in the next year, 2016-25
    • The reality for the majority is that the cost of living is still a problem
    • Graph 10: attitudes towards the cost of living, 2024-25
    • Stock markets reacted with sharp falls
    • Consumers’ lives are digital
    • Graph 11: key factors driving consumer behaviour around technology, 2024, 2025
    • Flexible technology and security to meet hybrid working routines will persist
    • Graph 12: working location, 2024, 2025
    • Online safety will continue to be a key area of concern for parents
    • Consumers are increasingly knowledgeable about AI
    • Graph 13: knowledge of AI, 2023 and 2024
    • Consumers envisage a future of biometric payments
    • Graph 14: payment technologies that consumers believe will become popular in the next five years, 2024
    • Consumers have more options to search for information
    • Graph 15: online platform consumers go to first when searching for information, 2024
    • Uptake of 5G mobile phone contracts continues to creep up
    • Graph 16: 5G smartphone connectivity, 2021-24
    • Ofcom reports further rise in take-up of superfast broadband in 2024
    • Market background
    • High device ownership facilitates digital lives in the UK
    • Graph 17: personal ownership of technology products, 2024
    • Smartphone and laptops are the key devices underpinning the digital experience
    • Consumers stack multiple technology devices, create value bundles to appeal
    • Graph 18: personal ownership of technology products, 2025
    • Wearable technology can reduce reliance on smartphone activities
    • TVs still hold appeal as the key entertainment device, but younger consumers value portability
    • Graph 19: household ownership of technology products, 2024
    • QR codes are becoming a habit for younger consumers
    • Nearly half of Gen Z use a music streaming subscription service
    • Graph 20: current use of music and video subscriptions, 2018-24
    • Baby Boomers are resistant to listening to music on their smartphone
    • Graph 21: devices typically used for media activities, 2024
    • Future digital trends
    • Mobile will still be king in 10 years, younger consumers expect
    • Graph 22: atttitudes towards the future of technology, 2024
    • Demonstrable upsides of new tech can resonate with older consumers
    • Graph 23: interest in specific technologies, by generation, 2024
    • Health is a key area consumers see technology influencing for the better
  3. WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY

    • Smartphone use
    • Make mobile first a priority for where consumers spend considerable time
    • Graph 24: daily time spent on smartphone, 2025
    • Heavy phone usage evident in nearly a quarter of consumers
    • Smartphone native younger consumers are key mobile users
    • Graph 25: daily time spent on smartphone, by generation, 2025
    • Most consumers are happy with how much time they spend on their phones
    • Graph 26: daily time spent on smartphone, by generation, 2025
    • Help benchmark healthy phone habits
    • Women less likely than men to be happy with their smartphone usage
    • Graph 27: attitudes towards smartphone usage, by gender, by age, 2025
    • Younger women can benefit from health smartphone usage guidance
    • 60% of super-users are happy with their screen time
    • Graph 28: attitudes to smartphone usage by hours on smartphone, 2025
    • Super-users are valuable testing grounds for marketing and campaigns
    • A day in the life of the digital consumer
    • Create easily digestible content for consumers’ morning briefing
    • Graph 29: activities undertaken on smartphone just after waking up, 2025
    • Younger consumers more likely to check socials first thing
    • Leverage location based marketing and map integrations to catch commuters
    • Graph 30: activities undertaken on a smartphone while travelling, 2025
    • Tap into travel time with sponsored messages and emails
    • Target the lunch break and tap into productivity-focused content
    • Graph 31: activities undertaken on a smartphone while working, 2025
    • Pump up the volume with audio content for multitasking
    • Graph 32: activities undertaken on a smartphone whilst exercising, 2025
    • Music the most used digital service when exercising
    • Win the relaxation moment with timely tie-ups and sponsorships
    • Graph 33: activities undertaken on a smartphone while relaxing at home, 2025
    • Digital pain points
    • Most consumers suffer digital pain points
    • Graph 34: consumer digital pain points, 2025
    • Concerns about online scams increase with age
    • Younger consumers worry about digital overload
    • Graph 35: least enjoyable digital activity, by generation, 2025
    • AI can help take the strain of admin, security and inconvenience
    • Attitudes towards digital lives
    • Older consumers could lose out as technology evolves
    • Divergence in comfort with using new technologies among consumers
    • Graph 36: attitudes towards digital life, 2025
    • Leverage AI in voice assistants to increase engagement opportunities
    • Attitudes towards digital security and privacy
    • Brands can go beyond the convenience of digital sign on to be trusted digital stewards
    • Graph 37: attitudes towards digital security and adverts, 2025
    • Brands need to be careful not to veer into surveillance tech
    • Attitudes towards digital habits
    • Consumers are digitally fatigued but can’t see going without their smartphone
    • Graph 38: attitudes towards digital overload and smartphones, 2025
    • Empower consumers to overcome digital overwhelm with mindful smartphone use
    • Advertising can tap into second screening habit amongst younger consumers
    • Graph 39: use of smartphone while watching video on a different screen (eg TV, laptop), 2025
    • Males more comfortable in online shopping experience for large purchases
    • Graph 40: comfort in making large purchases entirely online, by age and gender, 2025
    • Younger consumers make meaningful digital connections
    • Graph 41: attitudes towards online community, 2025
    • Differing opinions on regulation could see more divergence in online platform choice
    • Second screening is a frequent habit among younger consumers
  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING TRENDS

    • Launch activity and innovation
    • And AI gets embedded in hardware
    • Big tech doubles down on AI innovations
    • AI companion tech gains more traction
    • AI for mental and emotional support also gains traction
    • NVIDIA introduces AI for robots and smartglasses
    • Amazon aims to enhance discovery with AI shopping features
  5. APPENDIX

    • Abbreviations
    • Generations
    • Consumer research methodology

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