Only 18 per cent of Kiwi respondents used virtual reality more than once in the past year, compared to 38 per cent on average across all countries surveyed.
IDC New Zealand’s 2017 ConsumerScape 360° survey finds New Zealand is now a top performer in adoption and usage of digital services.
A higher proportion of Kiwi consumers pay for premium services like online music streaming, cloud services, and console gaming, the report states.
Streaming has grown strongly in adoption in New Zealand over the last year as Netflix, Lightbox and other services have grown in popularity, says IDC NZ
While the US leads the way in percentage of consumers who pay for streaming services, New Zealand ranks very highly for those who use it as their primary method of watching video.
IDC says over a fifth (22 per cent) of New Zealand consumers say streaming is their primary method of programme viewing. This is equal to the US and well above the worldwide average of 14 per cent.
“This year’s results show that New Zealand is now in line with other countries and in many areas, is ahead of the pack,” says Shane Minogue, research manager for telecommunications, IDC New Zealand.
The report says New Zealand consumers have one of the highest Facebook activity rates, with 81 per cent of Kiwi respondents having accessed Facebook in the last 30 days, well above the worldwide average of 74 per cent.
But, inertia reigns in other areas, says Minogue.
Only 12 per cent of New Zealand consumers say that they “always want the latest and greatest electronic devices”, compared to 23 per cent worldwide.
“It appears New Zealand consumers will adopt digital services and tech if there is a desired use case. There is apathy towards new technologies and services where the benefit is unclear,” says Minogue.
As an example, he says only 18 per cent of New Zealanders surveyed said they used virtual reality more than once in the past year, compared to 38 per cent on average across all countries surveyed.
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