New information from Hub research shows that some trends that got started during the pandemic may continue afterwards. Especially when it comes to technology at home. There was a sharp uptick in adoption of internet-connected televisions. We’ve pointed out before on this site that almost every television sold in the US is now a smart TV so what we’re seeing here then is that 40% of respondents bought a new TV. The takeaway though is that people are stepping up their home viewing experience. Given the lack of opportunity to go out to the movies and do other things people invested in the one thing that nobody could take away sitting on the couch watching TV.
Among those with a smart TV, almost 40% said they had bought a smart TV during the pandemic (i.e. during 2020 or 2021).
It’s also quite possible that paying a premium price for movies that are screening in theaters could last far beyond the shutdowns.
Among those who intend to watch new movies in the next year, an equal number say they intend to mostly stream at home (38%) as say they’ll mostly go to the theater (36%). About a quarter (26%) intend to use both equally.
The study did not break things down by people with families and without. Even with the rise in movie tickets a person going to the movies on their own we’ll certainly have to spend a lot more to watch it at home then they would simply sitting in front of the big screen. But on the other hand a family of five paying $30 to watch a movie at home would save a lot of money, especially if a movie visit includes drinks or something to eat.
We can’t completely depend on the result of Paul’s like this in order to Gage the future but as people adopt new ways of consuming their media the market will continually adjust.
