In addition, according to the latest survey into Digital Trends from Microsoft, 38 per cent of consumers say they are more likely to buy a product or service that helps identify how they can make an improvement to their life*.
The study identifies a growing consumer trend for tracking habits and activities, and seeking insights from personal data to help improve the way people live their lives. This trend for consumers to track their own data – My Analytics – is one of eight key digital trends that Microsoft has identified as it maps changing and emerging consumer behaviour and attitudes globally toward brands and advertising.
Other insights and recommendations for brands include:
- Consumers gather more data than ever, on everything from exercise, weight, sleep and spending habits to quantified measures of their well-being and mood. This is particularly prevalent in younger demographics and slightly more pronounced in men.
- Previously, people tracked aspects of their lives, now they are now pulling together multiple data sets to discover how to make improvements. Consumers are now able to ask questions such as, "How did one hour extra sleep affect my productivity levels today?". Changes in attitudes towards health, fitness and work mean that people are learning to be life coaches by looking closely and strategising around the data they collect.
- Marketers can tap into this information by helping consumers "play" with their data, reframing "wellness" as "self-improvement." By aligning established health and wellness brands, aggregating different data streams, the industry can provide more tailored experiences for the end user.
* From around 1,000 respondents in the UK. From around 8,000 globally in key international markets.
Microsoft Advertising has joined forces with Brand Republic at microsoft.brandrepublic.com to share the findings of its research insights into the future of digital behaviour and technology with brands and agencies.
The first study is called Digital Trends and was conducted with IPG Mediabrands and The Future Laboratory. Visit to find out more on emerging digital consumer trends among early adopters as well as regular and heavy Internet users. The study examined awareness and engagement with trends, and evaluated behaviour and attitudes toward technology.
Follow the debate about these findings on Twitter at @MSAdvertisingUK and use the hashtag #MSFTinsight to join in.
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