Market research firm GfK and digital research specialist nurago have embarked on a major, global research project, ‘Connected Life.dx’, which aims to give businesses a complete web browsing picture of how consumers behave on the internet across both fixed and mobile.  

The companies say the study will be the first of its kind to investigate the relationship between mobile and fixed internet browsing, to deliver a complete web browsing and apps utilisation picture. Initially, it will focus on consumers’ internet usage via PCs, laptops and smartphones, and then progress to include tablets.

More than 400 consumer participants from Europe, the Americas and Asia will be recruited, to have their online behaviour across a range of devices continuously monitored, over a period of three months. They will also complete regular questionnaires regarding their intentions and attitudes to online browsing and behaviour. This data will then be combined with extensive user profiling, and ultimately determine the relationship between mobile and fixed internet usage, and how this drives consumer behaviour.

Through this process, the research aims to reveal cross platform consumer journeys – where they go, what they do and how they think – and explore the barriers and drivers for each type of access, including how consumers access the same brand differently in a mobile and fixed internet environment. The companies believe the findings will prove incredibly valuable to device manufacturers, content providers and digital marketers, particularly in areas such as customer retention, acquisition and customer experience.

“We live in an increasingly convergent world, with consumers using many different devices to reach and act upon decisions in their online activity, and yet our understanding of consumer online behaviour is currently siloed by platform,” says Babita Earle, digital strategy director at GfK. “What makes this study really unique is the combination of true cross-platform behaviour monitoring and survey-based measurement of consumers’ attitudes and preferences. We expect the findings will have profound implications for handset manufacturers, network operators, content providers and marketers.”

Arno Hummerston, managing director client services international at nurago, notes that internet access via smartphones is growing at an explosive rate , not just through browsers, but also via web-enabled apps. “Whilst smartphones provide a richer web-browsing experience, apps offer greater simplification and relevance, letting consumers access only what they want, making web access quicker and more user-friendly,” says Hummerston. “Connected Life.dx will, for the first time, answer urgent questions about how different kinds of web access complement each other, and demonstrate how to integrate multi-channel activities across campaigns.”

The study will be powered by GfK nurago’s proprietary technology – an integrated approach which allows holistic data analysis, including monitoring of websites visited; app usage; communication habits (calls, SMS, MMS); network and data transfer analytics; app/SMS/MMS usage; and device usage overall – including systems information such as battery power and charge. The profiling survey will cover demographic, tech sophistication, lifestyle, brand preferences, and consumer values.