All stats this week are from GWI Core, looking specifically 16-64 year olds in the UK and US.
📱 Since 2009, iPhone ownership has climbed from 6% to 56%. Back then, you were still more likely to own a BlackBerry.
🗳️ Since 2010, talking about politics online grew by 24%, probably thanks to British and American elections taking place last year. But the absolute number of people who like to chat about their views is always very small. The share of internet users talking about politics has never gone higher than 15%, which happened around the 2016 Presidential election.
📺 Since 2011, going online via a TV has climbed from 6% to 42%. It’s one of those trends you don’t really think about until someone points it out to you.
🎶 Since 2012, paying for a music streaming service has gone from 7% to 35%. By number of buyers, streaming overtook downloads in early 2017, and it hasn’t looked back since.
🛍️ Since 2013, Gen Z has expanded from just 1% of consumers (heady times…) to a quarter of the working-age population.
⌚ Since 2014, smartwatch ownership has risen from 5% to 32%. The growth of smartwatches, and evolution in their consumer base, has been fascinating to follow. Back then, almost two-thirds of their owners were men, but they’re now more popular with women.
🤳 Since 2015, one of the big trends has been using a mobile phone while watching TV. 4 in 10 used to do this, but it’s since doubled to 8 in 10. We just can’t help ourselves, it seems.
❤️ Since 2016, bisexuality has grown by 64%. The reasons behind this still aren’t completely clear, but it’s a trend largely driven by young women. At its peak in 2021/2022, 1 in 5 Gen Z women defined themselves this way.
🛒 Since 2017, the use of brand-provided QR codes has gone up from 7% to 17% - helped by the pandemic, no doubt.
🚘 Since 2018, ownership of electric cars has climbed by 167% - but the internal combustion engine isn’t going anywhere just yet. As we pointed out a few weeks ago, car intenders are still as likely to want a diesel vehicle as an electric one.
🏠 Since 2019, ownership of smart security products has climbed from 5% to 15%. Cultural moments help reveal just how embedded it’s become with music artists filming videos with Ring doorbells.
📈 Since 2020, using TikTok to find info about products and brands has gone from 9% to 25%. Reddit has also enjoyed good growth in consumers using it for shopping inspiration over the same time.
✈️ Since 2021, we see a host of trends related to pandemic recovery, like buying foreign vacations, which has doubled. But there are more slow burn trends in there too, like buying Lululemon products, which has increased by 86% in that time.
⚽ Since 2022, Arsenal Football Club has returned to European competition and become more competitive in the EPL, which has helped drive their support up 61%. This influx of extra supporters may or may not include Anne Hathaway.
🤖 Since 2023, what else could it be? ChatGPT is of course the headline story of the past year, growing its userbase from 12% to 18%.
