NEW DELHI: Smartphones, regarded as a must-have personal item, have played a key role during the lockdown months (March 25 – May 31) in bringing about the new normal of social distancing and safe procedures. Dependence on handsets for productivity rose 120 per cent during April-May when compared to levels before the coronavirus outbreak, finds a CyberMedia Research survey titled, Mobile Industry Consumer Insights.
The study, conducted in association with TECNO Mobile, covered consumers in the age groups of 20 to 35, and socio-economic levels of SEC B & SEC C, having an affordable smartphone in the price range of Rs 6000 – Rs 10, 000. Accessing information on government schemes, content creation and sharing, and collaboration, online banking and shopping accounted for most of the work related activity on smartphones, per the survey.
“As a Black Swan event, the users were not really prepared for the lockdown, and had to depend on their smartphones to tide over. The smartphone is a key daily driver for consumers living in cities and towns beyond Tier I.
What the survey highlights is how smartphone usage is changing, during lockdown and in the neo-normal, cutting across use cases, such as productivity and personal development. In preparation for the neo normal, consumers are seeking smartphones that offer larger screen size and better battery life,” Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, said.
However, as sales of non essentials resumed, many upgraded to laptops and the dependence on smartphones for work reduced. According to CMR, the use of smartphones for productivity rose only
40 per cent in June, as compared to pre-covid-19 months.