Borderless Consumers

Not to sound like Jeff Foxworthy, but if you own a computer, a tablet, a smartphone, and a TV, you just might be a “borderless consumer.”  That’s what the folks at Harris Interactive called people who have those devices when they did a survey for Verizon a couple of months ago.  You can see the results at BorderlessConsumer.com and, as the site says “Borderless consumers are an important and rapidly growing segment, almost 40 percent of U.S. adults. These consumers use several devices and require connectivity, flexibility and choice whenever and wherever possible. They are defined as consumers who own a laptop or desktop, own a smart phone or tablet, have an Internet-enabled device at all times, are motivated to make technology and connectivity upgrades and are interested in the benefits of a connected home.”

It appears as if there is an ongoing update of information, which is probably an excellent idea given how rapidly media consumption changes among this group.

Among the other findings:

• 40% of borderless consumers are interested in interacting with TV commercials via their phones or tablets.
• 74% of all consumers believe all the electronics in the house should be connected both to the internet and with each other (90% of borderless consumers want this).
• 60% of all consumers want to access their files and content on any device, at any time, and anywhere (82% of borderless consumers want this).
• While only 32% of all consumers want the ability to control or influence TV shows via second screens, 48% of borderless consumers want this.

It’s easy enough to dismiss this as a bunch of early adopters except that we’re at critical mass and many of the big players in the media and content distribution world are reacting.  While watching a lot of content on a phone or tablet still usually requires that you subscribe to the cable or satellite TV distributor, we’re starting to see “cord nevers” in addition to “cord cutters”.  It’s not just about media either as the shopping data shows borderless consumers shop in person quite a bit less than do non-borderless types.  Think about that as you read today’s announcement of Blockbuster closing 300 more stores.

No massive revelations here today – I thought you might find this interesting – I certainly did.  It’s data that reminds us that we need to be focused on changing models and methods since the world is already doing so.