61 percent people check their smartphones within 5 minutes of waking up, says Deloitte survey

For many smartphone owners, checking their phones is among the first and last things they do every day, with 61% respondents saying they look at their devices within 5 minutes of waking up, a report said today. According to the Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, 2016, the number swells to 88% when considering people who take less than 30 minutes after waking up to check their phones. Around 96% of the respondents take about less than an hour to peep into their handsets each morning. Interestingly, 74% respondents check their mobile phones about 15 minutes before going to sleep. “This study reveals that smartphone usage has increased considerably. It has been identified as a disruptor in many common daily activities. This (the numbers) says a lot about the way mobile phone usage has intruded in consumers’ personal space and life,” Neeraj Jain, Partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, said. The global study, covering 53,000 people, includes over 2,000 respondents from India. The report found social networks and instant messaging were the two things consumers check on their smartphones first thing in the morning. These are followed by personal emails and text messages. Respondents from India said they also use their devices to check bank balances (54%), pay utility bills (54%) and services bills (53%). This is followed by transferring money within the country (38%) and abroad (31%). However, when it comes to using phones for making in-store payments, fear about security and lack of understanding of potential benefits emerged as key barriers. About 29% respondents cited fear about security, followed by reasons like “I don’t see any benefits from using this” (19%) and “I get rewards if I use my credit card instead” (15%). As per the report, about 53% Indian respondents said they bought their smartphones online, while 39% said they bought their phones in-store. Electronics, including smartphones, are among the top selling items on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. Also, penetration of smartphones has surpassed that of laptops, with 86% saying they owned smartphones while 71% said they have laptops, the report said. PTI