Reasons Most Consumers Went Online During Pandemic

Even before the pandemic, people were heading online to shop, watch videos, keep up-to-date with friends and family and read the news. However, the pandemic has led to increased use of certain online services. Here’s what a Morning Consult survey of 2,200 US adults shows about who is turning to online services on a daily basis.

The online service that adults have most frequently turned to since February 2020 has been weather services, with 62% of those surveyed in December saying they check the weather online on a daily basis. This is followed closely by the share of those who have gone online to watch TV shows and movies on a daily basis (61%).

About half (51%) of those surveyed are turning to online services on a daily basis in order to communicate with friends and family, while 48% are using online services in order to keep up with the news.

Earlier research from Comscore shows that the average time spent streaming audio online daily had significantly increased between December 2019 and June 2020. Added to that, some 44% of adults from the Morning Consult survey say they are listening to music or podcasts online daily.

Surprisingly, even with stay-at-home mandates and the rise in remote work, only 1 in 5 respondents report that they are working remotely online each day.

Amid this daily use of online technology, some mobile apps have fared better than others. One such technology – and the one Morning Consult named the fastest growing brand for 2020 – is Zoom. Zoom enjoyed a surge of downloads in March 2020, and although it has seen some dips throughout the year, downloads remained high through December.

The same cannot be said for Zoom’s competitor, Google Hangouts, which saw downloads spike early on in March but then tapered off at a steady rate.

Other mobile apps that look to have gained popularity during the pandemic include TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Amazon Shopping, Uber Eats and DoorDash. And, while the social networking app Houseparty looked like it would be popular early on, downloads plummeted by mid-year.