Dulles, VA October 1 2024 – Wireless network benchmarking specialist Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) has announced the results of its Nationwide Connectivity Experience Awards. Based on GWS’s OneScore ranking methodology, T-Mobile picked up the award for Best Mobile Experience, and Verizon has won Best Broadband Experience. AT&T has also been awarded the Best Combined Connectivity Experience for overall performance of its combined mobile and broadband offering.

The results, revealed in full in GWS’s 2024 US Mobile and Broadband Nationwide Connectivity Experience Report, follow six months of extensive data collection from GWS’s opt-in consumer panel of over 104,000 participants (18+), where the company collected nearly 4 billion data points and conducted over 3.4 million tests related to throughput, reliability, packet loss, and latency involving the US’s major mobile operators and ISPs. In addition to the awards, GWS also collected and analyzed app engagement and consumer sentiment data from real-life mobile users, providing further insights into the overall user experience.

1^st Award: T-Mobile wins Best Mobile Experience

 Performance Test Results and Award Ranking:

• Test winner: GWS testing found that T-Mobile provides the Best Mobile Experience nationwide by a major operator in the US (see Figure 1).
• Performance metrics measured: Reliability, latency, upload and download network available throughputs, delivered throughputs, and packet loss.
• Test highlights: T-Mobile performed the best in categories such as average network available throughputs with download speeds at nearly 170Mbps and upload at 20Mbps; nearly double the download speed of the next nearest operator (AT&T at 86Mbps).
  • Mean Download Throughput Ranking: 1^st T-Mobile, 2^nd AT&T, 3^rd Verizon
  • Mean Upload Throughput Ranking: 1^st T-Mobile, 2^nd AT&T, 3^rd Verizon
  • Task reliability across the board was consistent with all three operators above 98%.

User Insights on Mobile Experience and 5G:

• In terms of what people are doing on their phones, GWS data shows that people spend most of their time on mobile devices accessing social media, communications, and navigation apps. In fact, people spend over 50% of their time on just 10 mobile apps, with Facebook at the top, followed by YouTube, Chrome Browser, TikTok, Google Maps, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Google Messages, Snapchat, and Gmail.
• Despite the prominence of online search and social media, when US consumers were surveyed and asked to choose one activity as the sole function of their phone, texting/messaging came out as the most popular choice.
• When looking at only 5G, T-Mobile also showed the best 5G mobile experience because it had the highest throughput speeds, lowest latency, and lowest packet loss.
• T-Mobile consumers were also more likely than the average American to say that it was important to have a 5G signal wherever they are – 47% versus 40% for the national average.
• Final observation on 5G: it appears that more US consumers than not are seeing a tangible impact from advanced network connectivity – when asked about their thoughts on 5G, just 19% of consumers felt they were unable to tell if their performance was better or not when on 5G.

2^nd Award: Verizon wins Best Broadband Experience

Broadband Performance Test Results and Award Ranking:

• Test winner: Based on performance test results of the US’s major nationwide ISPs, GWS found that Verizon has the Best Broadband Experience out of all ISPs tested (see Figure 2).
• Performance metrics measured: reliability, latency, upload and download network available throughputs, FCC broadband benchmark, delivered throughputs, and packet loss.
• Test highlights: When testing the connections of broadband through WiFi, Verizon led the pack when it came to its overall broadband experience with a solid performance across all metrics.
• Verizon, Xfinity, Cox, and Spectrum all had mean download throughputs above 150Mbps. On the flip side, Cox and Spectrum had much slower upload speeds (both below 40Mbps) when compared to Verizon and AT&T (both above 90Mbps).
• All ISPs tested were similar when it came to task reliability, with each scoring near or just over 99%.
• Xfinity came out on top for the percentage of time that their consumers experienced speeds over the FCC broadband benchmark (an updated baseline throughput standard announced by the FCC in March 2024 of 100Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads).
• The data shows that Xfinity consumers exceed this benchmark 41% of the time (average across all ISPs was 33%). When looking at the inverse of this statistic, it suggests that reaching this benchmark on a consistent basis may prove challenging for the broadband industry as two-thirds of the time study participants did not experience throughputs above the benchmark when tested.

User Insights on Broadband Experience:

• App engagement data collected by GWS shows that US consumers spend nearly one-third of their waking day on their smartphones, and nearly three-quarters of that time (72%) is spent on WiFi networks.
• GWS polling also found that a typical American household has between 13 and 14 different WiFi-connected devices, with examples including smartphones, tablets, laptops, game consoles, smart TVs, smart appliances, and security cameras. Looking at mobile devices specifically (i.e. smartphones and tablets), households typically have at least three connected via their WiFi/broadband network. What’s more, over half of all households say that the majority of the members in their house are using the internet simultaneously for more than 6 hours a day, showing the importance of stable and fast broadband connections for work and play.

3^rd Award: AT&T wins Best Combined Connectivity Experience

Performance Test Results and Award Rankings:

• Test winner: In the final award, GWS analyzed the performance of partner network bundles across ISP and mobile and found AT&T to have the Best Combined Connectivity Experience (Figure 3). The award is the US’s only performance measure that brings together results from across both mobile operators and ISP partners in one score.

Performance metrics measured: reliability, latency, upload and download network available throughputs, delivered throughputs, and packet loss.

• Test highlights: GWS tests found that the AT&T bundle performed the best when factoring in the combination of metrics tested. In terms of mean download throughputs, AT&T, Spectrum, and Xfinity easily topped 125Mbps. However, for upload AT&T had the fastest average combined speed (100Mpbs), doubling the average speeds provided by the nearest competitor (Verizon at around 50Mbps). When it came to reliability, AT&T and Verizon scored the highest; both were above 99% with T-Mobile, Spectrum, and Xfinity at or below 99%.

 User Insights: How important have bundled packages become?

• GWS consumer polling found that the desire to switch to a bundle deal is a key factor for consumers when assessing their mobile operator or broadband provider.
• Over half (52%) of US consumers are considering bundle packages and their associated perks when deciding a service plan.

Commenting on the results, Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS, said: “Our tests show that mobile consumers have the best experience on T-Mobile’s network not only overall but also when on 5G. And let’s not think 5G has become white noise to consumers. Our polling shows that consumers are keenly aware of 5G and its intended benefits.

But while T-Mobile demonstrated a dominant performance on the mobile side, on the broadband side we’ve uncovered an interesting, if not a more competitive race among ISP providers to provide their consumers with the best experience. Case in point, Verizon was a clear winner for broadband performance (even if we included the test results of their recent acquisition, Frontier), yet Xfinity was not far behind and did best when it came to meeting the newly updated FCC speed benchmark for broadband. In particular, our tests revealed that Xfinity met or exceeded this benchmark more than the other ISPs.

Why is the FCC benchmark important? Our data shows that households have multiple users online at any given time, and over a dozen devices connecting to WiFi throughout the day – from phones to laptops to smart TVs and appliances and much more. Meaning that shared bandwidth has become critical to a household’s broadband experience, which is why we factor the FCC benchmark into our measurements and scoring. 

Finally, our polling has revealed a strong interest by US consumers in plans from operators that provide both mobile and broadband services. In fact, a majority of US consumers now consider bundle deals when selecting a new service provider, which is why we thought it important to measure the combined experience of both mobile and broadband from those operators who provide both services. And when looking at performance for combined connectivity, there is a clear winner as AT&T comes out on top.”

For more information, view the full 2024 US Mobile and Broadband Nationwide Connectivity Experience Report here.

Methodology and Notes 

All data was collected from GWS’s opt-in consumer panel of just over 104,000 participants (18+) making up a nationally representative sample of people from around the US. This is a panel of real-life users who use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day; as a result, the data GWS gathered provides the most accurate picture of the nation’s connectivity experience. Data was anonymously collected from Android smartphones/tablets during the first six months of 2024 (January 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024) and reported in aggregate for market research purposes only.

Performance Test Data: GWS conducted a series of tests in the background, measuring and analyzing mobile and ISP broadband network performance involving download and upload available throughputs, delivered throughputs, latency, reliability, and packet loss. These metrics were then used to determine mobile operator and ISP scores in relation to the three awards. In total, GWS collected nearly 4 billion data points and conducted over 3.4 million tests during the six-month test period to determine the results. Tests were run at random times, seven days a week, on both mobile and WiFi networks. For the Combined Connectivity Experience Award, scoring was based only on tests from panelists that used a mobile network and that operator’s broadband partner. For example, Spectrum Mobile test results from a Spectrum Mobile panelist were paired with Spectrum broadband test results from that panelist.

Consumer Polling Data: GWS conducted surveys, polling panelists about their network experience as it relates to their activities and expectations. All information collected was weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the US adult population (aged 18+).

OneScore Ranking: GWS’s patented ranking methodology takes into the test metrics mentioned above, and combines them into a single score that highlights the overall performance of each network. In addition, the importance of each metric is weighted based on feedback from consumers across the U.S.; feedback that focuses on those elements of network performance that matter most to everyday people.

App Engagement Data: GWS collected app engagement data from user devices to understand how, what, and when consumers connect and use their apps. Data collected includes app usage, frequency of use, and other similar metrics. Data is weighted to be a demographic representation of the US adult population (18+).

About Global Wireless Solutions, Inc. 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent wireless insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through wireless insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile and broadband users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for 28 years.

Media Contact

Adam Hudson
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

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The study of over 3000 American smartphone users, published today by wireless insights and benchmarking specialist GWS, reveals a stark generational divide in attitudes towards AI on phones, with more 18-24 year olds saying they “don’t want” AI on their phones compared to all older age groups (16% vs 10%).

While nearly half (46%) of ‘older millennials’ (35-44 year olds) are in favor of the technology if it helps boost their productivity, just a quarter (25%) of 18-24 year olds feel the same way. And it’s not because they don’t understand what AI offers, as Gen Zs seem to be most confident when it comes to understanding the technology – just 6% felt they didn’t understand AI enough to have a strong opinion on it. But the data reveals that this isn’t enough to convince them that the technology will make an impact, as a fifth (19%) of 18-24 year olds don’t think the technology is sophisticated enough to make a big difference on how they use their phones – the highest of any age group.

As well as a generational divide, the data also reveals a gender divide in attitudes towards AI on phones too, with more men willing to embrace the new technology if it makes things easier to do (46% of men vs 31% of women).

But while privacy is a concern for some, only one in ten Americans feel most strongly about AI being “too intrusive” on phones. This is reflected across all age groups, suggesting that privacy is not at the top of the agenda for consumers when thinking about AI and smartphones at present.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS Magnify comments: “Recent advances in AI might have yielded some impressive new technology. But while many of the biggest tech firms have launched their own AI tools in recent months, our data shows that more work must be done to truly convince consumers that AI will make their mobile experience better, especially with younger audiences. This perhaps taps into a new trend around the rise of ‘dumb phones’, particularly amongst Gen Zs. But it’s far from the majority, and in a world where we do everything through our phones, there’s no denying that you simply can’t do lots of daily tasks – from shopping to banking – without one. And, as is the case with all the best technology, when done properly it soon becomes something that you wonder how you ever functioned without!”

Methodology and Notes to Editors

 All data was collected via surveying GWS’s opt-in consumer panel of just over 3,000 participants (18+) making up a nationally representative sample of people from around the US. Data was collected in August 2024.

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent wireless insights and benchmarking firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through wireless insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile and broadband users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for 28 years.

Media Contact

Adam Hudson/Ivana Farthing
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

The post The Gen AI Mobile Generation Gap: Gen Zs more likely to reject AI on phones than older age groups, reveals GWS appeared first on GWS.

Consumer usage data from mobile analytics and business intelligence firm GWS Magnify reveals that Amazon has shored up its market dominance in the US in 2024:

• Since the start of the year, Amazon’s monthly active user numbers in the US have held steady at around 139 million.
•  Challenger Shein has seen the most impressive retail growth in 2024 so far. In January, Shein had nearly 28 million monthly active users. But today the ecommerce company boasts over 32 million users in the US – up 18% since the turn of the year.
  
• After its meteoric rise since launch, for the first time Temu’s growth rate seems to be plateauing, with the company seeing only a small bump in users (up 5%) since the turn of the year. That said, Temu user figures remain high averaging just over 78.5 million monthly active users since the beginning of the year.

Engagement rules

While Amazon’s user figures remain high, challenger brands continue to outperform the ecommerce giant in terms of engagement figures. In 2024 so far, the average Temu user spends close to 24 minutes on the app each day; up nearly 4 minutes from the same time last year and over double that of Amazon at 11 minutes. Shein is also outdoing Amazon in terms of engagement with users spending 12 minutes on its app each day.

As well as spending longer on the app, Temu users are also visiting the retailer more often than Amazon users. In 2024, the average Temu user opens the app over six times a day, compared to an average of 4 openings a day for Amazon.  

The rise of female users on challenger ecommerce platforms

While Amazon’s user base remains resilient, Shein and Temu are proving especially popular amongst one group in particular: women.

Four out of five (80%) Shein users are female at present in the United States, compared to 54% for Amazon. Shein’s typical user is also younger than the typical Amazon user – nearly two fifths (39%) of Shein’s customer base are under the age of 34, compared to 32% for Amazon. Likewise, Temu has a heavily female user skew as 61% of its customers are women, down slightly from the 69% skew it saw this time last year. But, like Amazon, Temu also proves popular with older audiences as 36% of its US audience are over the age of 55 compared to 32% for Amazon.

Dr. Paul Carter, CEO, GWS Magnify, commented: “Amazon seems to have withheld the storm – its resilience over the last year against challenger brands is testament to its market dominance and future growth.

But despite growth remaining steady, Amazon’s recent moves to bring in its own direct-from-China discount section is acknowledgement of the threat posed by the likes of Temu and Shein.

In a market where price rules, Amazon can afford to join the race to the bottom. But it also needs to ensure it’s winning the battle for user engagement if it’s to remain the dominant player in the market. The gamification of shopping is something that Temu in particular has mastered with great reward which sees customers coming back and opening the app many more times a day than Amazon. But Amazon’s robust and wide audience means it is, at least for now, still the top of the pile in US online retail.”

-ENDS-

Methodology 

 App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS  

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.  

 Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 25 years.  

 For more information visit https://www.gwsolutions.com/   

 Media Contact  
Adam Hudson   
Diffusion PR  
[email protected]  

The post Amazon Prime Day in the US: Challengers fail to break Amazon’s dominance despite meteoric rise – as Temu’s growth plateaus appeared first on GWS.

Consumer usage data from mobile analytics and business intelligence firm GWS Magnify reveals that Amazon has shored up its market dominance in 2024:

• Since the start of the year, Amazon’s monthly active user numbers in the UK have held steady at around 26 million since January 2024
•  Challenger Shein has seen the most impressive retail growth in 2024 so far. In January, Shein had nearly 8 million monthly active users. But today the ecommerce company boasts over 10.5 million users – up 37% since the turn of the year.
• After its meteoric rise since launch, for the first time Temu’s growth rate appears to be plateauing, with user numbers down slightly (4%) since the seasonal highs at the turn of the year. But user figures remain high at around 16 million monthly active users today, which is significantly more than Shein or Asos, and only slightly lower than eBay’s nearly 17.5 million.

Engagement rules

While Amazon’s user figures remain high, challenger brands continue to outperform the ecommerce giant in terms of engagement figures. In 2024 so far, the average Temu user spends 18 minutes on the app each day; over double that of Amazon at nearly 8 minutes. Shein also has a slight edge over Amazon in terms of engagement with users averaging over 8 minutes on its app each day. Overall, user engagement has remained steady this year in the UK with little change in app engagement across most brands.

As well as spending longer on the app, Temu users are also visiting the retailer more often than Amazon users. In 2024, the average Temu user opens the app over 6 times a day, compared to an average of 4 openings a day for Amazon.  

The rise of female users on challenger ecommerce platforms

While Amazon’s user base remains resilient, Shein and Temu are proving especially popular amongst one group in particular: women.

Over four out five (81%) Shein users are female at present in the UK, compared to 54% for Amazon. Shien’s typical user is also much younger than the typical Amazon user – nearly two fifths (39%) of Shien’s customers are under the age of 34, compared to 30% for Amazon. Likewise, Temu has a heavily female user skew as 63% of its customers are women. But, like Amazon, Temu also proves popular with older audiences as 30% of Temu’s UK audience are over the age of 55 compared to 31% for Amazon.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS Magnify, commented: “Amazon seems to have withheld the storm – its resilience over the last year against challenger brands is testament to its market dominance and future growth.

But despite growth remaining steady, Amazon’s recent moves to bring in its own direct-from-China discount section is acknowledgement of the threat posed by the likes of Temu and Shein.

In a market where price rules, Amazon can afford to join the race to the bottom. But it also needs to ensure it’s winning the battle for user engagement if it’s to remain the dominant player in the market. The gamification of shopping is something that Temu in particular has mastered with great reward which sees customers coming back and opening the app many more times a day than Amazon. But Amazon’s robust and wide audience means it is, at least for now, still the top of the pile in UK online retail.”

-ENDS-

Methodology 
App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS  
For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.  

 Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 25 years.  

 For more information visit https://www.gwsolutions.com/   

 Media Contact  
Adam Hudson   
Diffusion PR  
[email protected]  

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London, 16 July – Wireless network benchmarking specialist GWS has announced the results of its connectivity experience awards, seeing Virgin Media O2 winning two awards for Best Broadband Experience and Best Combined Connectivity Experience, and EE coming top for Best Mobile Experience.

The results, revealed in full in GWS’ 2024 Nationwide Connectivity Experience Report, follow six months of extensive data collection from GWS’ opt-in consumer panel of 6,000 participants (18+), where the company collected over half a billion data points and conducted over 1.5 million tests related to throughput, video streaming, reliability, packet loss, and latency involving the UK’s major mobile operators and ISPs. In addition to determining the awards, GWS also wanted to provide deeper insights into the overall user experience. This was done by collecting app engagement data via the consumer’s device and attitudinal data via polling.

Commenting on the results, Dr Paul Carter, CEO, Global Wireless Solutions, said: “We’ve released this report to provide a holistic look at the state of the UK’s wireless connectivity – which includes whether you’re connecting via an ISP or mobile network. What we need from our networks varies depending on where we are – if you’re going to be using your phone at home while sharing a network with other people or devices, most of the time it will require higher speeds than if you’re on the go using your mobile network. Our life isn’t one-dimensional running on one network, so nor should our testing be. That’s why we’ve tested the different types of networks people are accessing on their phones, to provide a more meaningful overview of the UK’s connectivity experience today.”

1^st Award: Virgin Media wins Best Broadband Experience

Figure 1: 2024 Best Broadband Experience Award

Broadband Performance Test Results and Award Ranking:

• Test winner: Based on performance test results of the UK’s major nationwide ISPs, GWS found that Virgin Media has the Best Broadband Experience out of all ISPs tested (see Figure 1).
• Performance metrics measured: reliability, latency, upload and download network available throughputs, delivered throughputs, packet loss, and video streaming (resolution, freezing, and loading).
• Test highlights: Virgin Media led the pack when looking at mean download throughputs (across all panellists), offering over 170Mbps. The next closest rival was Vodafone broadband providing less than half the throughput (over 75Mbps), illustrating a significant divide in performance when it came to download throughput. VMO2 also performed best in video streaming finishing tops with best resolution and quickest time to load.

User Insights on Broadband Experience:

• App engagement data collected by GWS shows that UK consumers spend nearly one-third of their waking day on their smartphones, and most of that time (78%) is spent on WiFi networks.
• GWS polling also found that a typical household has between 13 and 14 different connected devices, with examples including smartphones, tablets, laptops, game consoles, smart TVs, smart appliances, and security cameras. Looking at mobile devices specifically (smartphones and tablets), households typically have at least four connected. What’s more, over half of all households say that the majority of the members in their house are using the internet simultaneously for more than 5 hours a day, showing the importance of stable and fast broadband connections for work and play.

2^nd Award: EE wins Best Mobile Experience

Figure 2: 2024 Best Mobile Experience Award

Performance Test Results and Award Ranking:

• Test winner: GWS testing found that EE provides the Best Mobile Experience by a major operator in the UK (see Figure 2).
• Performance metrics measured: reliability, latency, upload and download network available throughputs, delivered throughputs, packet loss, and video streaming (resolution, freezing, and loading).
• Test highlights: EE performed top in most of the test categories including reliability, video streaming, and latency. In terms of throughputs, Three had the highest download throughput at 63 Mbps and was tied with EE for the highest upload throughput at 17Mbps

User Insights on Mobile Experience:

• In terms of what people are doing on their phones, GWS data shows that people spend most of their time on mobile devices accessing social media, communications, and navigation apps. In fact, people spend over 50% of their time on just 10 connectivity and social media apps, with Facebook at the top, followed by Chrome Browser, WhatsApp, Google Maps, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Gmail, and Snapchat.
• GWS’ test results for mobile show that operators are all managing the everyday throughput requirements for consumers. This is because the apps that consumers use require far less throughput from the mobile network than what the network is capable of providing. Put another way, GWS measured the throughputs that are delivered to consumers while using their apps and found that throughputs are generally much lower than the maximum throughputs the networks are capable of providing. In contrast, broadband requires much higher throughputs due to the number of devices accessing the network at any one point in time from the same household.

3^rd Award: Virgin Media O2 wins Best Combined Connectivity Experience

Figure 3: 2024 Best Combined Connectivity Experience Award

Performance Test Results and Award Rankings:

• Test winner: In the final award, GWS analysed the performance of partner network bundles across ISP and mobile and found Virgin Media O2 to have the Best Combined Connectivity Experience (Figure 3). The award is the UK’s only performance measure that brings together results from across both mobile operators and ISP partners in one score.
• Performance metrics measured: reliability, latency, upload and download network available throughputs, delivered throughputs, packet loss, and video streaming (resolution, freezing, and loading).
• Test highlights: GWS tests determined that Virgin Media O2 performed at or near the top in a majority of the metrics with Sky also performing well in video streaming and reliability. Interestingly, reliability across all combined providers remained constant when compared to last year’s results. Of note, when looking at throughputs, the fastest average download throughput by a combined provider was offered by Virgin Media O2 at over 150Mbps – well over double the average of its closest rival (EE/BT with an average download throughput of over 65Mbps). When looking at uploads, Virgin Media O2 was also top with an average throughput of 34Mbps

User Insights: How important have bundled packages become?

• GWS consumer polling found that the desire to switch to a bundle deal is one of the top three reasons why consumers are currently interested in changing their mobile operator.
• For those consumers who aren’t currently looking to change, when asked what would make them change operators, getting a good bundled deal from another operator was one of their top three choices.

For more information please download the full 2024 Nationwide Connectivity Experience Report.                                                                               

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Threads user base: After a bumpy start to life, in which Threads struggled to retain and engage users, the company has amassed a reasonably sized user base. The platform currently boasts around 14.4 million monthly active users in the US – an all-time high and a 30% increase from where it was at the turn of the year. However, to evaluate Threads solely in terms of its user numbers would be misleading given its dependency on advertising and account sign ups from other Meta owned platforms. Engagement on Threads is the real metric of success, and the platform has struggled in that regard.

Threads app engagement: Without a sufficiently engaging and unique proposition, Threads has struggled to truly engage its audience. Despite recent growth, it is struggling to keep its users on the platform for a sustained period. As of June 2024, users spent just 6 minutes on the app each day. Compared to X at 23 minutes, Instagram at 36 minutes or TikTok on which users spend a remarkable 80 minutes per day, Threads has real engagement issues. For a social media platform, where engagement is the aim of the game, this is a big issue. New entrants into the social media market can succeed – just look at the rise of TikTok. For Threads, however, the platform simply isn’t sufficiently setting itself apart.

Threads and X: In the short term, Threads does not pose a significant challenge to X. Though the company has had recent success in terms of a growing user base, it suffers from a lack of engagement. What’s more, 47% of monthly Threads users are also currently on X. Compared to just 17% in the other direction, Threads needs to do more to set itself apart if it’s going to pose a significant challenge or even look to overtake X in the future.

Threads and Instagram: Threads remains highly dependent on Instagram – in fact, it is hard to see how Threads would have amassed its audience without Instagram. From a user perspective, 98% of those active on Threads also used Instagram in the same month, and 87% used it on the same day. Where Threads might be able to differentiate itself from Instagram is in terms of its audience. Threads users skew male (58%) (and X is more heavily male at 69%), whereas Instagram is more female (51%). Threads users are also older than the typical Instagram user. If Meta execs are concerned with setting the platforms apart, understanding these different audiences will be key. And with hundreds of millions of users across Meta owned platforms in the US and beyond, the opportunity for growth is there. A compelling engagement strategy is the way to do it.

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers (age 18+) participating in our market research programs in the United Kingdom and the United States. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of the U.K. and U.S. mobile connectivity experience. Data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a U.K. or U.S. user’s demographic representation of their country’s respective adult population. For more information visit https://gwsmagnify.com/

About GWS: For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for 28 years.

GWS Media Contact:
Adam Hudson
[email protected]

The post News Alert: Threads One Year Review appeared first on GWS.

• Adult US users are spending over two times more time on TikTok than Instagram each time they open the app, with the typical user spending 13 days a year spent just on TikTok (considering an average 16 waking hours a day)
• As of May 2024, the average TikTok session lasts 8 minutes, with users spending 34 minutes daily on the app. The average session on Instagram lasts just 3 minutes with users spending just 17 minutes on the app daily on average, half of TikTok’s engagement
• In May 2024, TikTok users in the US clocked a combined total of 106 billion minutes on the app. In the same month, Instagram came in at the lesser, albeit still very high, figure of 58 billion minutes
• Unsurprisingly, it is the youngest users who are driving the most engagement on both TikTok and Instagram. Users in the 18-24 age range spend on average 57 minutes on Tik Tok and 33 minutes on Instagram each day – for context, this is nearly 2 weeks (12 days) a year on Instagram, and more than 3 weeks on Tik Tok (22 days)
• As of May 2024, Instagram was slightly ahead in terms of user numbers with 109 million monthly active users, compared to TikTok’s 100 million. What’s more, while 43% of TikTok users are also on Instagram, just 37% of Instagram users are on TikTok, reflecting the platform’s wider user base

Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS comments: “Social media companies have been fighting a battle for user engagement for years, and TikTok is currently winning. But while looking at how many times apps are being opened is important, what really matters is how long they stay on those apps. And not only is TikTok winning this battle against Instagram, it’s also winning the bigger battle – the battle for consumer time. Our devices know everything about us – they know what our interests are, who our friends are, where we like to shop and where we spend our free time. The time and energy that people are investing on TikTok is astounding, but that time comes at a cost, as the more time we spend on apps like TikTok, the less time we spend elsewhere. Whatever happens in the ongoing TikTok saga, it’s no surprise that TikTok’s algorithm has been brought into the debate – as whoever holds consumer eyeballs for longest, holds the power.”

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS: For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.

GWS Media Contact: 
Adam Hudson
[email protected]

The post News Alert: Algorithm wars: TikTok vs. Instagram appeared first on GWS.

• Virgin Money has about 1.8mn monthly active app users – this is significantly lower than Nationwide which had about 6.2mn in May 2024
• Taking overlap into consideration, the combination of Nationwide and Virgin Money would tie with Halifax for the most monthly active app users at 7.5mn if Nationwide acquires Virgin Money
• Both Nationwide and Virgin Money monthly active users have fallen over the last year (May 2024 over May 2023) – down 3.1% and 10.9% respectively. This is in contrast to other mobile banking apps that have seen the number of monthly active users grow, specifically Barclays which is up 8.5% on monthly active users and Lloyds which is up 6.7%
• When looking at the broader mobile banking landscape, Virgin Money has the highest proportion of older users aged 45 and above at 74%. Nationwide is slightly lower at 60%
• Virgin Money boasts a more loyal customer base than Nationwide with only about 33% of its users also on other apps, while 45% of Nationwide customers are using multiple banking apps

Commenting on the proposed merger between Nationwide and Virgin Money, Dr Paul Carter, GWS: “The CMA’s consultation period comes to a close this week, following which judgement will be cast on whether Nationwide’s takeover bid of Virgin Money can go ahead. If the deal goes ahead, the bank will be second only to Lloyds in terms of branch numbers. But while much discussion has been focused on the physical world, little has been said about the mobile world where another battle is raging – the battle for mobile app engagement.

The rise of mobile apps has taken the sector by storm and there’s no denying that mobile is increasingly important for the industry and its customers. While Halifax currently has the top spot for the number of monthly active mobile users, if the deal goes ahead, Nationwide and Virgin Money would overtake Barclays to be joint top with Halifax. But how long they retain this is questionable, as over the last year we’ve seen the number of monthly active mobile app users for both Nationwide and Virgin Money fall. This is in contrast to other apps like Barclays and Lloyds which have seen big gains in monthly active app users. So while a deal may be a boost for the number of mobile app users in the short term, this won’t last long if the firm is not able to find ways of drawing customers to its app for longer-term engagement. And in today’s world where we are relying on our phones more and more for essential services like banking, this is crucial for long-term success.”  

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers (age 18+) participating in our market research programs in the United Kingdom and the United States. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of the U.K. and U.S. mobile connectivity experience. Data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a U.K. or U.S. user’s demographic representation of their country’s respective adult population. For more information visit https://gwsmagnify.com/

About GWS: For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for 28 years.

GWS Media Contact: 
Adam Hudson
[email protected]

The post News Alert: Nationwide and Virgin Money – A look at their customers appeared first on GWS.

• Shein currently boasts 10.5 million monthly active users in the UK market (May 2024), with a year-on-year growth rate of 28%
• After experiencing a slowdown in its growth rate through the latter half of 2023, Shein has seen a spike in users over the first half of 2024 – it has increased its monthly user numbers by 45% since the turn of the year (Dec 2023)
• Shein users skew heavily female and are typically younger. Over three quarters (78%) of its adult user base in the UK are women and 40% are below the age of 34
• Like fellow Chinese eCommerce platform Temu, Shein’s success in the UK has been driven by its app engagement. As of May 2024, Shein users were spending 9.1 minutes a day on its app – a much higher figure than its apparel rival ASOS (6.6 minutes) – and averaging 3.8 sessions a day

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers (age 18+) participating in our market research programs in the United Kingdom and the United States. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of the U.K. and U.S. mobile connectivity experience. Data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a U.K. or U.S. user’s demographic representation of their country’s respective adult population. For more information visit https://gwsmagnify.com/

About GWS: For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.

GWS Media Contact:
Adam Hudson
[email protected]

The post News Alert: Shein users on the rise in the UK appeared first on GWS.

• US users are spending over two times more time on TikTok than Instagram each time they open the app, with the typical user spending 13 days a year spent just on TikTok (considering an average 16 waking hours a day)
• As of April 2024, the average TikTok session lasts 8 minutes, with users spending 75 minutes on average on the app each day that they are on it. The average session on Instagram lasts just 3 minutes with users spending just 36 minutes on the app each day, less than half of TikTok’s engagement
• In April 2024, TikTok users in the US clocked up a combined total of 104 billion minutes on the app. In the same month, Instagram came in at the lesser, albeit still very high, figure of 58 billion minutes
• Unsurprisingly, it is the youngest users who are driving the most engagement on both TikTok and Instagram. Users in the 18-24 category spend on average 93 minutes per day on TikTok in April 2024, and 56 minutes on Instagram – for context, this is over 3 weeks a year (22 days on TikTok alone)
• As of April 2024, Instagram was slightly ahead in terms of US user numbers with 108 million monthly active users, compared to TikTok’s 101 million

Dr. Paul Carter, CEO, GWS comments: “Social media companies have been fighting a battle for user engagement for years, and TikTok is currently winning. But while looking at how many times apps are being opened is important, what really matters is how long they stay on those apps. And not only is TikTok winning this battle against Instagram, it’s also winning the bigger battle – the battle for consumer time. Our devices know everything about us – they know what our interests are, who our friends are, where we like to shop and where we spend our free time. The time and energy that people are investing on TikTok is astounding, but that time comes at a cost, as the more time we spend on apps like TikTok, the less time we spend elsewhere. Whatever happens in the ongoing TikTok saga, it’s no surprise that TikTok’s algorithm has been brought into the debate – as whoever holds consumer eyeballs for longest, holds the power.”

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS: For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.

GWS Media Contact:
Adam Hudson
[email protected]

The post News Alert: Algorithm Wars Between TikTok and Instagram appeared first on GWS.

Truth Social Overview: Userbase, Growth, and App Performance

• In the US, the number of active mobile device users on Truth Social peaked at 1.1 million back in August of 2023, but then subsequently dropped below 500,000 by December 2023. (NB: these are users who accessed the Truth Social app at least once in a given month, as opposed to the total number of accounts or downloads).
• However, likely due to the increased media exposure following the SPAC deal, Truth’s monthly user numbers have risen through 1Q24, and have jumped in March, rising to 1.4 million, well above its previous peak.
• That said, these figures are still considerably lower than Reddit which had its IPO last month – Reddit had 46 million monthly active users in February 2024.
• Likewise, as of March 2024, X had 42 million monthly users compared to Truth’s 1.4 million.
• In terms of App ‘stickiness’, Truth Social is also much lower than other social media apps: The average user of Truth Social accesses the platform less than 2 days per week (1.8), compared to Pinterest (2.1 days), Reddit (3.3 days), X (3.6 days), Tik Tok (3.7 days) and Facebook at the top with 4.6 days per week.
• In addition, Truth Social also has a much lower user engagement than its social media competitors, with each user spending fewer minutes overall and engaging in fewer sessions on the app than its competitor platforms except for the freshly relaunched Parler.
• Truth Social also has a retention problem in terms of users returning to use its app. At the time of analysis, just 22% of Truth Social users have used the app in the last 7 days, compared to 57% of X users. On the other hand, 49% of Truth Social users had not used the app for at least 61 days, compared to just 22% of X users.

 Truth Social Users: Who are they and what other apps do they use?

• Truth Social is dominated by male users (as are X, Reddit, and Discord): More men use the app regularly than women, with 57% of active users being men and 43% women in February 2024
• Truth Social users see the greatest overlap with Facebook, followed by X:
  • Overlap with X: 56% of Truth Social monthly active users also use X at least once per month (compared to just 19% of mobile device users who access X monthly) – showing a large overlap of users between X and Truth Social.
  • Overlap with Facebook: Even higher is Facebook, which sees an 87% overlap between Truth Social users who also use Facebook on mobile devices. This is in contrast to Snapchat and Reddit, which are accessed by just 15% and 18% of Truth Social users respectively.
• One factor behind this overlap with Facebook is the age of Truth Social users which, like Facebook, skew older. As of March 2024, 65% of Truth Social users were over the age of 55, and 20% were aged between 45 and 54. Just 1% of Truth social users are aged between 18-24 and 4% are aged between 24-34.
• The average age of Truth Social users is also a point of differentiation from X users which are more mixed in terms of their age. Though the biggest age group for X users is the 55+ category (25%), 23% of users are aged between 25-34, and 19% are aged between 18-24 (which results in 5% of Truth users between 18-34, versus about 42% for X).
• In terms of race/ethnicity, 77% of Truth social users are White compared to 58% of X users. 16% of Truth social users are Hispanic (which, interestingly, has shown elevated numbers over the past six months), compared to 21% of X users. Just 1% of Truth Social users are Black, compared to 12% of X users (with X’s distribution mirroring closer to the national averages).

 Comparing Truth Social: Microblogging Apps

• While the comparison with X might hold in terms of platform features (Truth Social essentially being an X clone), it is probably more accurate to compare Truth with smaller X challengers and microblogging platforms – the likes of Mastodon, Telegram, Parler or MeWe – which typically average under 1 million monthly active users.
• Compared to more established social media platforms, which see their monthly active user numbers consistently in the many millions each month, Truth is competing on a different terrain.
• With its recent growth in monthly users and significant press coverage, one might predict that it will establish itself as the dominant microblogging challenger platform. That said, its user base will always naturally be restricted to those on the right; or less speculatively, Truth is appealing to a very specific demographic audience at the moment (generally older White men) and there is no indication that this will change.
• Furthermore, although Truth Social now has more monthly users than some of its microblogging competitors, it has been susceptible to more variation in its user numbers. For instance, Truth Social registered 1.1 million users in September 2023, but that fell to just 449 thousand as of December 2023 before surging to 1.4 million in March 2024. The likes of MeWe and Telegram, on the other hand, have both been much more consistent in terms of the number of users registered.
• Another recent entry into the microblogging sphere, Threads, has finally started to show some promise. Threads floundered post-launch, falling from 10.3 million monthly users in July 2023 to just 7.8 million in August 2023. More recently, however, Threads has hit new highs in 4 consecutive months, with March 2024 reaching 12.5 million. However, despite the robust number of users, individuals don’t appear to be engaging much with the platform, averaging just over 2 sessions per day and 5-6 minutes of use per user, around the same as Truth Social.

 Comparing Truth Social: Right Leaning Apps 

• Another way to look at Truth Social is to compare it to other right-wing social media platforms: the likes of Rumble, Gettr, Parler
• As of March 2023, the video-sharing service Rumble was the largest of these alternative platforms with 1.7 million monthly users. Next was Truth Social at 1.4 million users, followed by Gettr at 175 thousand, then Parler with fewer than 50 thousand over each of the past few months.
• Due to it being a video-sharing site, as opposed to a microblogging platform, Rumble users also typically spend much more time on the app than its competitor apps. In March 2023 users spent 13.3 million minutes on Rumble each day, compared to just 1 million minutes on Truth Social or 620 thousand minutes on Gettr.
• In terms of driving consistent engagement amongst users, both Truth Social and Rumble saw issues with users downloading the app but not returning to it. 49% of Truth Social users and 56% of Rumble users have not used the app in the last 61 days. That said, both have a smaller core audience who do return regularly. 22% of Truth Social users and 20% of Rumble users had accessed the app in the last 7 days at the time of analysis.

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.

GWS Media Contact 
Adam Hudson
[email protected]

The post News Alert: Truth Social – Comparing and Contrasting to Similar Apps appeared first on GWS.

DULLES, VA – April 8, 2024 – Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) has today released the results of its competitive benchmark testing and performance evaluation of mobile networks in Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin. The comprehensive analysis conducted over nine months (March through November 2023) found that UScellular took top OneScore honors over AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon for both Best Network and Most Reliable Network in multiple markets.

GWS OneScore Best Network 

GWS OneScore Most Reliable Network

GWS’ OneScore ranking determination is based on a combination of real-world mobile network performance measurements and feedback from consumers on what they want from their network. It factors in both controlled, scientific testing of the U.S.’s major networks as well as consumer research (i.e., research that explores sentiment, and pinpoints performance factors and features most important to consumers). As a result, OneScore delivers the industry’s most comprehensive evaluation of mobile networks.

GWS CEO, Dr. Paul Carter, commented: “UScellular’s wins in multiple mid-sized and smaller markets across the U.S. demonstrates their dedication to providing top-performing, reliable wireless service to all consumers regardless of their location. While the larger metropolitan and densely populated markets typically attract the most attention from operators, UScellular’s focus and ability to overcome the challenges of investing in and building out modern networks for smaller customer bases while providing the best service is a notable accomplishment.”

Evaluation Criteria 

GWS Best Network OneScore takes into account voice, data, video, coverage, and reliability metrics, and combines them into a single score that highlights the overall performance of each network. In addition, the importance of each metric is weighted based on feedback from consumers across the U.S.; feedback that focuses on those elements of network performance that matter most to everyday people. Similarly, GWS Most Reliable Network OneScore considers both voice and data reliability tests in combination with research into those factors that matter most to consumers in terms of consistent, stable performance.

Methodology

GWS conducted competitive benchmark testing in markets located in Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin between March and November 2023. In particular, nearly 300,000 tests were conducted across these markets to evaluate the mobile network performance of AT&T, T-Mobile, UScellular, and Verizon. Testing was conducted using Rohde & Schwarz SmartBenchmarker test equipment, Samsung Galaxy mobile devices, and GWS MobiStat data evaluation and reporting platform.

In addition, GWS’s performance evaluation also takes into account consumer survey results. The survey focused on consumer behavior and expectations and was conducted using GWS’ U.S. consumer panel. The total sample size was just over 10,000 adults (ages 18 and older) with fieldwork undertaken during June 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of adult U.S. consumers with active mobile devices.

About Global Wireless Solutions, Inc. 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for 28 years. 

Public Relations Contact:
Global Wireless Solutions, Inc.
[email protected]
703-661-7000

The post GWS Releases OneScore Winners in Markets Across Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin appeared first on GWS.

• Truth Social is dominated by male users: More men use the app regularly than women, with 57% of active users being men and 43% women in February 2024
• Monthly active user figures appear to be falling – and considerably lower than Reddit: In the US, the number of active mobile device users on Truth social peaked at 1.1 million back in August of 2023, but have since fallen to just 800k in February 2024 (NB: these are users who accessed the Truth Social app at least one time in a given month, as opposed to total number of accounts or downloads). This is considerably lower than Reddit which had its IPO last week – Reddit had 46 million monthly active users in February 2024
• App ‘stickiness’ is lower than other social media apps: The average user of Truth Social accesses the platform less than 2 days per week (1.8), compared to Pinterest (2.1 days), Reddit (3.3 days), X (3.6 days), Tik Tok (3.7 days) and Facebook at the top with 4.6 days per week (see table below)
• Truth Social users see greatest overlap with Facebook, followed by X: 56% of Truth Social monthly active users also use X at least once per month (compared to just 19% of mobile device users who access X monthly) – showing a large overlap of users between X and Truth Social. Even higher is Facebook, which sees an 87% overlap between Truth Social users who also use Facebook on mobile devices. This is in contrast to Snapchat and Reddit, which are accessed by just 15% and 18% of Truth Social users respectively

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day, so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years. 

GWS Media Contact 
Adam Hudson
[email protected]   

The post News Alert: Truth Social App Engagement Stats appeared first on GWS.

• Reddit is by far the fastest growing major social media platform, with YOY growth at nearly 24% in February 2024, with the next highest only 5% (Instagram). Reddit just overtook X in terms of monthly active users in January 2024, with 46 million compared to 45 million for X.

• Reddit users skew heavily male, with 68% male vs. 32% female. This is almost identical to X (69% vs. 31%). All of the other social media platforms have a slight majority of female users.
• Reddit has the second most users below the age of 25 (25%) and the highest below the age of 35 (61%)
• Reddit users spend around 23 minutes each day on the platform. Its MOU figures are comparable to both Snapchat (22 minutes) and X (21 minutes)

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day, so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years. 

GWS Media Contact 
Adam Hudson
[email protected] 

The post News Alert: Reddit User Demographics Compared to Other Social Media Platforms appeared first on GWS.

• Mobile network benchmarking specialist GWS has revealed that all of the UK’s major operators are hitting the ‘sweet spot’ with consumers satisfied with their everyday mobile network speeds ranging between 1-5Mbps
• The findings reveal that speed is not a key driver for people to move networks, with poor signal and blackspots ranking much higher than speed as a reason to change
• Brits are now spending nearly 5 hours a day (293 minutes) on their phones
• Social media and browsing currently account for over two-fifths (43%) of the total mobile screen time amongst UK adults. UK consumers spend over half (54%) of all daily mobile use on just 10 apps

London, 19 March – Mobile network benchmarking specialist GWS has revealed that the UK’s major operators are hitting the ‘sweet spot’ for customer network needs, with the majority satisfied with the speeds they are getting for their everyday mobile activities and not looking to change operator as a result.¹

By combining real-life mobile usage analytics data with consumer polling, GWS has found that the network sweet spot, or the point at which consumer demands for network mobile speeds match what operators deliver, sits between 1-5Mbps. The data reveals that speeds in this “everyday” range allow the majority of UK mobile users to perform most of their mobile activity in ways they find satisfactory without the need for higher throughputs.

The results map mobile usage analytics trends tracked by GWS’ app analytics platform, GWS Magnify, which show that people are spending a large amount of time on social media, video, and browsing apps that can manage the everyday speeds provided by the operators. In fact, Brits are spending 43% of their daily mobile screen time on social media and browsing apps alone. The GWS Magnify data also highlights that people spend half of their daily mobile time on just 10 apps, accounting for 41 minutes (54%) of all mobile use per day in the UK, with Facebook at the top, followed by Chrome Browser, WhatsApp, Google Maps, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Gmail, and Snapchat.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO of GWS commented: “Even though our network testing data shows that operators are capable of providing throughputs broadly averaging 45Mbps, which is more than ten times higher than the ‘everyday’ range required, the sweet spot we’ve found is much lower but still enables people to do what they need to while mobile. When it comes to how we use our phones, consumer demands are clear – they just want their phones to work when they want and for whatever activity they are doing. This doesn’t mean they need super high speeds all the time – in fact, the most popular activities require lower throughputs than you’d expect.”

Staying Connected – It’s a Big Deal

Can’t put the phone down: GWS’ real-life usage data reveals that Brits are now spending nearly 5 hours a day (293 minutes) on their phones – with over a quarter of their day spent ‘mobile’ (26%, or 77 minutes on mobile networks) and the remaining 74% (216 minutes) on WiFi networks. To put this into perspective, nearly a third of a consumer’s waking day (31%) is spent on their phones.

Are consumers focused on the task at hand or the tech at hand? When polling users on mobile network performance², GWS found that over half of Brits (56%) said they did not mind whether they are receiving 4G or 5G coverage, so long as they could complete the task at hand. Even for the 44% that find 5G important, life still goes on for a majority of this group when they don’t get a 5G signal; meaning that they continue on with their tasks using whatever connection they have rather than wait until they are in 5G coverage.

A Loyal Nation of Mobile Network Users

Sticking with the plan: The study also highlights that most Brits (69%) are loyal to their network having been with their current operator for more than 2 years. While 29% are perhaps sticking to plan as they are locked into ‘long term contracts’, many are on more flexible deals: 31% are on ‘SIM only’ contracts, 20% on ‘rolling plans’, and 17% on ‘pay-as-you-go’. This means that the majority could change operators if they wanted to, but are choosing to stick. 

If I had to change operators, this is why: Whilst most people are happy with their current network, 24% of Brits are considering changing providers this year. Topping the list of reasons why they are contemplating a change is cost, as 38% feel their current plan is too expensive. After price, 31% say they are looking to change network due to poor signal and blackspots, and another 29% are looking for better bundle deals.  Comparatively much fewer (21%) said they wanted to change due to slow network speeds.

Reliable coverage matters: The data shows that whilst operators are hitting the sweet spot when it comes to speeds, coverage reliability continues to be the primary network-related pain point for many with a majority of UK mobile customers (64%) reporting that they are still experiencing at least a few reliability issues a week. The importance of reliability has also been documented in previous GWS studies, noting that a reliable connection typically tops speed as the network factor most important to users.

Looking at the performance of the operators, Three registered the highest number of customers reporting frequent issues with their network coverage, followed by EE. Vodafone customers reported the fewest issues with their network coverage across the course of a week, followed by VMO2.

When out and about, mobile networks are a better option for consumers than public WiFi: Even if consumers experience some coverage issues with mobile networks, 40% will only use public WiFi as a last resort. In fact, only 22% will use a public WiFi because they are concerned about their mobile data usage and, just as significant, only 13% will use public WiFi because they think it’s faster.

Putting It All Together

Mobile operators have the ability to provide high throughputs to their customers (ten times higher than what they usually receive), but most of the time it doesn’t appear necessary as the apps people are using the most don’t require hyper-fast speeds to run. This is reinforced by the fact that consumers appear generally satisfied with their network service levels while receiving lower, everyday throughputs. In addition, they tend to be loyal to their operator switching primarily when the price is right not because the speed is too low. Furthermore, it is reliability, not speed, that is more important to British mobile network users. When people spend as much time as they do on their phones (1/3^rd of their waking day), it’s about connecting with friends and family and doing whatever else is needed online without issue, and then moving on with their day.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO of GWS concludes: “Of course, delivering higher network speeds drives could drive a better experience and is important for certain activities, which will be increasingly critical in the future when 5G will have a very important role to play in everything from autonomous cars to telehealth. But the reality is that right now, we don’t need blazing-fast mobile speeds all the time for the ways that most people are currently using their phones throughout the day. Though there are areas for improvement, the fact that Brits are satisfied with networks is a testament to the innovation and investment in our mobile networks that operators are delivering to consumers for much of their daily mobile activities.” 

Methodology

Data presented in this release is collected from a combination of the following sources:

¹ Data sourced from Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected nationwide from consumers participating in our market research program. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of the nation’s mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.K. adult population. Analytical data related to network performance and app engagement was collected during a six-month test period (7/1/23 – 12/31/23).

² In addition to collecting network performance and app engagement data, GWS surveyed participating consumers to understand sentiment and perception via GWS Magnify. This survey was conducted during the month of January 2024, with a total response size of 2,951.   

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years. 

GWS Media Contact   

Adam Hudson  
0207 291 0255   
[email protected]   

The post UK mobile users satisfied with speeds in the “sweet spot” ranging between 1-5Mbps appeared first on GWS.

Temu user growth plateauing

1. Temu’s rapid rise in popularity saw its monthly active user numbers reach a peak of 17 million in the UK as of November 2023 and 83.2 million in September 2023 in the US.
2. However, since then Temu’s user numbers have declined in both markets. In the UK Temu had 15.6 million monthly users as of January 2024, down 4% on the previous month and 8% from its peak. In the US Temu had 77.5 million users as of January 2024, down 7% from its peak.
3. Despite these recent declines, which are common for most major retailers given seasonal shopping habits, Temu still remains one of the most popular shopping apps on the market with only Amazon exceeding it in terms of monthly active users.

Temu continues to be popular among women of all ages

1. Temu’s users skew female in both US and UK markets, with around 62% female and 38% male users.
2. Though the split between male and female users has remained roughly the same throughout Temu’s rise in the UK market, the gap has narrowed in the US. As of October 2022, 77% of all Temu users in the US were female. That figure is just 62% in the US today.
3. When it comes to age, Temu’s users have been getting progressively older suggesting the enduring appeal of the app amongst older users.
4. In the US, 18–24-year-old users hit their peak in June 2023 at 10.1 million but has since fallen to 8.1 million users as of January 2024. The share of users aged 55+ has been growing steadily over the past year, from 34% of Temu’s overall user base as of January 2023 (12.5m users) to 36% in January 2024 (27.6m users). Users aged 55+ make up the largest group in both UK and US markets.
5. In the UK 18–24-year-old users peaked in May 2023 at 2.4 million before falling all the way to 1.5 million as of January 2024. Users aged 55+ hit a new peak in January 2024 at 4.8 million.

App engagement key to Temu’s success

1. In the UK, users are currently spending significantly more time on the Temu app than other major players in mobile retail such as Amazon and eBay. Temu overtook Amazon in terms of total minutes of user for all users in August 2023. In February 2024 alone, users spent over 106.4m minutes daily on the Temu app, compared to 72.8m minutes for Amazon and just 47.8m for eBay.
2. In the US, the total minutes across all users is still higher for Amazon than Temu, however, the gap is closing. As of February 2024, users spend 432.8m minutes daily on Temu and 493.4m on Amazon, even with Amazon’s higher user number.
3. As such, in both the UK and US market the amount of time each individual user spends on the Temu app is significantly higher than for Amazon. As of February 2024 in the US, each individual user spent an average of 23 minutes per day on Temu compared to 11 on Amazon. In the UK in February 2024, Temu users spent an average of 21 minutes per day on the app compared to 8 minutes for Amazon

Comment from Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS: “Though Temu has not sustained the rapid rates of growth seen through much of 2023, its place amongst the major retailers in both US and UK markets cannot be disputed. Temu has built a significant user and resilient user base, with particular popularity amongst older women. Key to Temu’s enduring success is its clear focus on user engagement. The company has not just succeeded in securing user downloads and sign-ups, but encouraging long-term engagement on its app. Its intense focus on the customer journey and in-app experience has been central. From targeted offers to built-in gamified shopping features, users are rewarded from spending time on its platform. For Temu, the more time a person spends on its app, the more likely they are to make a purchase; thus, it is worthwhile investing in personalised rewards as a customer scrolls through its app. For any brand looking to follow in Temu’s footsteps, providing a proposition that keeps customers on an app while monitoring this activity via user engagement metrics is key to sustained success in the mobile retail space.”

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day, so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years. 

GWS Media Contact  Adam Hudson
[email protected]  

The post News Alert: Temu User Stats in U.S. and U.K. appeared first on GWS.

Monthly active users

• Looking at the top 10 mobile banking apps for monthly active users, Halifax makes the top spot with 7.2mn users, followed by Nationwide (6.1mn) and Barclays (6mn). At the bottom end of the top 10 are HSBC, Chase, and TSB Mobile Banking with 3.8mn, 3.7mn and 2.7mn users respectively.
• Not all household names make the top 10 with Royal Bank of Scotland and Virgin Money’s apps seeing 1.6mn monthly active users in January 2024.
• When looking at digital-only banks, Monzo currently has around 4.2mn monthly active users in the UK, making it the 7^th most popular mobile banking app and most popular digital-only bank. Starling has 2.4mn monthly active users.
• However, Monzo’s monthly user numbers have fallen 10% year-on-year. This fall coincides with the rapid rise of Chase which has seen its user numbers rise 9% to 3.7mn as of January 2024.

Demographic breakdowns

• Monzo and Starling Bank have a much younger user base than other mobile banking apps, with 44% and 39% of users aged between 18 and 34 respectively.
• In contrast, Halifax, the UK’s most popular mobile banking app, has only 24% of its users under the age of 34.
• Virgin Money and first direct bank have the highest proportion of older users aged 45 and above at 73% and 72% respectively. This is followed by Nationwide at 63%.
• Barclays and Lloyds Bank exhibit a more balanced age distribution, with at least 20% of users in each age bracket. 

Using multiple banks

• At least 30% of bank app users are using multiple banking apps as of February 2024.
• Virgin Money boasts the most loyal customer base with only about 31% of its users also on other apps, followed by NatWest (35%) and Barclays (36%).
• The top 5 UK banks with the most overlap are Chase UK (70%), first direct (59%), Monzo (54%), Starling Bank (53%) and TSB (51%).

Comment from Dr. Paul Carter, CEO, GWS: “Monzo and Starling Bank’s popularity among younger users shows their commitment to offering features tailored to the mobile-first generation, including intuitive budgeting tools and innovative payment options. However, despite the rise of digital banks, many users still maintain accounts with traditional high street banks, indicating a desire for a balance between modern mobile banking and traditional services. This fierce competition highlights the importance of providing seamless mobile experiences to capture market share and cultivate customer loyalty in today’s fast-paced, on-the-go world. While the high street banks will be looking to learn from Monzo’s success with younger users by prioritizing a dynamic user-interface in a similar way, digital banks will be looking to build the trust and certainty that the traditional players are perceived to offer.”

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day, so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years. 

GWS Media Contact 
Adam Hudson
[email protected]   

The post News Alert: A Quick Look at Banking App Users in the U.K. appeared first on GWS.

• Monzo currently has around 4.2mn monthly active users in the UK, making it the 7th most popular mobile banking app and most popular digital-only bank
• However, its monthly user numbers have fallen 10% year-on-year. This fall coincides with the rise of Chase which has seen its user numbers rise 9% to 3.7mn as of January 2024
• Monzo users also skew much younger than other UK banks, with over two-fifths of its users (44%) aged between 18 and 34. Compare this to Halifax, the UK’s most popular mobile banking app, which has 24% of its mobile users under the age of 34.
• Monzo users are also likely to use another UK bank – as of February 2024, one in two (54%) Monzo users also used another UK mobile banking app

Comment from Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS: “Monzo’s prioritization of a dynamic user interface has been a hit with younger users. Its easy-to-use app and sign-up process allow people to become members with ease. Once they’re on the app, Monzo has a range of features that appeal to young people: instant alerts and notifications when payments are made, budget trackers that allow users to monitor their spending, or instant cashflow advice via the app. Traditional banks can learn from Monzo’s success with younger users by prioritizing user-interface in a similar way. However, it’s clear most Monzo users still wish to keep one foot in with a traditional high street bank, with over half of its users also banking elsewhere.”

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day, so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years. 

GWS Media Contact 
Adam Hudson
[email protected]   

The post News Alert: Monzo User Stats vs. Other UK Banks appeared first on GWS.

• Activity surge: Sportsbook betting saw a significant surge in activity during this year’s Super Bowl Sunday, with 4.5 million active users on the of the day of the event – 104% higher than the average during the NFL season
• Engagement up: Americans spent 230 million minutes on sportsbook betting apps on the day of the Super Bowl this year, up 144% on the season average – that’s an average of 52 minutes per person for those who used sportsbook apps on game day
• Halftime surge: The half-time break also saw a huge spike in engagement, with 1.2 million users on sportsbook apps during the interval alone
• DraftKings the real winner: Americans used the DraftKings app more than any other during last night’s event, accounting for 41% of all sportsbook app use. FanDuel was in at second at 34%, BetMGM third (7%), Bet Rivers in fourth (5%), and new player ESPN bets at fifth (4%)
• Duopoly: FanDuel and DraftKings accounted for 75% of all engagement on Super Bowl Sunday. Up from the season average of 70%

Comment from Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS:“The last year has been a record breaking one for American sports betting, with engagement continuing to surge. The Super Bowl is not just the pinnacle of the football season but is also consistently the biggest day of the year for mobile wagering. For many, watching football now goes hand in hand with mobile betting and the major betting platforms have quickly capitalized on the power of mobile app analytics to attract and engage with their customers. The growth of in-app streaming capabilities or tailored offers for each better is allowing users to switch between apps to find the best deal for them. After another record-breaking Super Bowl for sportsbook mobile, the market looks in good stead to continue growth for years to come.”

Note: App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected from consumers participating in our market research programs in the United States and United Kingdom. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day, so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of both the U.S. and U.K. mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously collected from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of each country’s adult population.

About GWS 

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years. 

GWS Media Contact 
Adam Hudson
[email protected] 

The post News Alert: Mobile betting a winner during the 2024 Super Bowl as 4.5 million fans take to betting apps appeared first on GWS.

DULLES, VA – January 26, 2024 – Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) has conducted a nationwide performance evaluation of Canada’s 5G national networks and is announcing its OneScore rankings. GWS’s extensive review and assessment has determined that Bell has the nation’s Best 5G Network followed by Rogers and then Telus.  The top ranking for the nation’s Fastest 5G Network goes to Bell followed by Telus and then Rogers.

GWS’ OneScore evaluation and ranking process results in the industry’s most exhaustive review of mobile networks as it combines controlled, scientific testing of the major networks with consumer research (i.e., research that explores sentiment, and pinpoints performance factors and features most important to consumers).

GWS’s testing and evaluation also revealed that 5G networks are generally improving across all three operators. This is most likely due, in part, to the continuous deployment of available spectrum such as that acquired in the 3500MHz band. In this instance, GWS testing found that the 3500MHz band was included in approximately 50% of the tasks performed for all three operators in various cities across the country.  When looking specifically at those tasks that included the 3500MHz band, GWS also found that Bell demonstrated the best performance and fastest speeds.

“5G has matured and is no longer a nascent technology. It now plays a significant and integral role in Canada’s mobile networks.” Said Dr. Paul Carter, CEO of Global Wireless Solutions. “As operators continue to invest in 5G spectrum and build out their networks, consumers will continue to benefit from new and improved services thanks to enhanced and faster network performance. While all of the major operators are making appreciable advances in their networks, Bell is leading the pack with the best and fastest 5G network.”

5G evaluation criteria:

GWS’s evaluation of 5G performance factors in speed, network reliability, video performance, and latency. In addition, the importance of each metric is weighted based on feedback from consumers across Canada; feedback that focuses on those elements of network performance that matter most to everyday people.  By taking into consideration both controlled, scientific testing (conducted with test equipment and smartphones in each market across Canada) along with in-depth nationwide consumer polling, GWS is able to understand if the networks are providing measurable benefits that are vital to consumers.

More about the nationwide evaluation – size, scope, and how it was done:

GWS conducted competitive benchmark testing of Canada’s national mobile networks between April and October 2023. In particular, 633,000 tests were conducted across Canada to evaluate the mobile network performance of Bell, Rogers, and Telus. All major metropolitan cities as well as less populated towns and cities were included in the testing; in total, representing 60% of Canada’s population.  Testing was conducted using Rohde & Schwarz SmartBenchmarker test equipment, Samsung Galaxy mobile devices, and GWS MobiStat data evaluation and reporting platform.

In addition, GWS’s performance evaluation of Canada’s 5G networks takes into account nationwide consumer survey results.  Independent polling firm, Toluna, was commissioned by GWS to survey consumer behavior and expectations.  Total sample size was 2,000 adults (ages 18 and older) with fieldwork undertaken during December 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of adult Canadians.

About Global Wireless Solutions, Inc.:

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them. 

 Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years. 

Public Relations Contact:

Global Wireless Solutions, Inc.
[email protected]
703-661-7000

The post Canada’s Best 5G Network and Fastest 5G Network goes to Bell appeared first on GWS.

Overall, 2023 has been a huge year for US sportsbook growth with monthly active sportsbook app users (all ages) up 20% over the same time last year. 21-28 year olds now account for 1.2 million out of a total of 7.9 million Americans now active on sportsbook apps each month.

Based on year-to-date analytics data, GWS Magnify predicts that the growth in monthly active users during the year will result in a total amount waged via sportsbook apps exceeding $110 billion for all of 2023.

The figures, which come from real-life mobile usage data tracked by GWS Magnify, show that not only are more people using sportsbook apps, but they are also spending more time on them. In October 2023, Americans spent 67.1 million monthly minutes on sportsbook apps, up 66% on the 40.5 million minutes the year before. These high engagement levels surpass any previous month, even including February 2023 when the Superbowl was held.

Sportsbook betting market now a duopoly

When looking at the number of monthly active users on apps, as of October 2023, FanDuel and DraftKings are dominating the market with 65% of monthly active users, followed by BetMGM with 17%.

In terms of app engagement, FanDuel previously held the number one spot for time people spent on its app; however, in July 2023 DraftKings took the lead and has since raced ahead into a league of its own – up 49.2% on FanDuel. In October 2023, Americans spent 30.3 million minutes on the DraftKings app compared to 20.3 million minutes on FanDuel (see graph below).

However, despite the dominance of both DraftKings and FanDuel in terms of sheer number of users, betting app loyalty is low as users seek the best odds across apps. Looking at overlap data between sportsbook apps via GWS Magnify, 47% of sportsbook betters were using more than one app on their phones to browse bets and place wagers. In a separate study, GWS polled sportsbook app users and found that 70% of Americans who use multiple sportsbook betting apps choose which one to wager on based on the active promotions and boosts offered. In addition, 20% reported that they were influenced by the notifications that the apps sent them, demonstrating the importance of app engagement in the competition for players.

Bet on ESPN

Despite only launching in November 2023, new challenger ESPN BET is making huge inroads into the sportsbook betting market. In just a few weeks, players are spending more time on ESPN Bet than BetMGM SportsBook, and during November it was the third most popular sportsbook app amongst US mobile users with an impressive 11% market share for time spent on the app. The company is also tapping into the betting appeal for the younger user. ESPN BET currently has the largest percentage of young people on its app, with 44% of users under the age of 36.

Consumers planning to wager more in 2024

As well as monitoring app analytics data, GWS Magnify separately polled Americans to look at wagers and spending trends for 2024. The survey data reveals that one in three Americans (36%) plan to place a bet using a sportsbook mobile app over the next 12 months, with over three quarters (78%) planning on waging as much if not more.

Of those who planned to bet more over the next 12 months, over two fifths (42%) said it was because their friends had started betting. Nearly one in three (30%) pointed to in-game commercials and promotions, and 34% said betting made watching sports more exciting.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS, commented: “Sportsbook betting is an industry that has capitalized on the power of mobile. The personalized nature of apps has been pivotal to the recent success of the nation’s largest sportsbooks, with in-game promotions, ‘peer pressure’ seeing friends doing it, and boosts driving consumer interest. What’s more, for many users, sports betting now goes hand in hand with watching sports. Whether its football, basketball, or even MMA, if there is an appetite for watching sports then there is an appetite for sportsbook betting. As people enjoy the game, apps put the excitement in the palm of their hands, which is why we’re seeing a growth in tailored offers for each better, as people switch between apps to find the best deals live in game. There’s no denying that the market is growing and this is a trend we expect to see on apps for years to come.”

Notes to editors   

Survey and app engagement data were generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected nationwide from consumers participating in our market research program. These are real-life consumers who use their mobile devices as normal throughout the day, so that the analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of the nation’s mobile connectivity experience. In particular, data is anonymously from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.S. adult population. In addition to collecting app engagement data, GWS is able to survey participating consumers to understand sentiment and perception. This survey was conducted from July 25th through August 1st, with a total response size of 2,027. The analytical data was collected between January 2021 and November 2023.  

About GWS  

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.  

 Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.  

GWS Media Contact  

Adam Hudson 
[email protected]    

The post US Sportsbook Betting Booms with Youngest Users Up 36% Over the Past Year appeared first on GWS.

Users taking flight

• X (formally Twitter) has seen its daily active user (DAU) numbers fall by 16% in the UK from 6.1m in July 2023 to 5.1m today – a decline of 1m users since the company rebranded to X.
• However, other social media companies have also seen declines during this timeframe. During the same period (July 23 – October 23) Facebook’s DAU numbers decreased 6% from 25.4m to 24m. Snapchat saw its DAU numbers decline 10% from 6.3m to 5.7m. The exception was TikTok’s, which held steady with 8.4m DAU across the period.

But Twitter (X) loyalists remain loyal

• Despite losing a significant number of users, those who remain continue to engage with X. Over the past quarter, the company has seen the average amount of time each user spends on the platform each day increase from 16.6 minutes to 17.8 minutes, which is an increase of 7%.
• This comes as Twitter’s social media rivals have seen their minutes per user rates decrease. Tik Tok saw its minutes per user decline from 76.3 minutes to 72.5 minutes – a decrease of 5%. Similarly, Facebook’s rate of decline was 4%, from 55.9 minutes per user to 53.9 minutes.

New social media apps on the block

• Hive Social is the fastest growing rival to X. The platform has seen its daily active user numbers rise by 350% from around 123k at the beginning of September to around 434k as of October 20^th, 2023. The company now has more DAU than Meta’s Threads.
• Despite a loud launch and initial buzz, Threads has not seen its user numbers recover to the initial heights it first reached after launch. Threads saw its DAU numbers plummet below 1 million in mid-July, and now the company has just 322k active users in the UK. At present, 79% of the daily users on Threads also used Instagram on the same day suggesting that Threads is reliant on Instagram for its users.
• It is also unclear that Threads is capturing users from Twitter. As of July 2023, 67.5% of Threads users were also using X on same day. That number fell to just 56.0% by mid-October. But those on X who are also active on Threads in the US has shrunk from 16.7% in early July to just 3.5% by mid-October.

Commenting on the data, Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS, said: 

“The jury is still out on whether Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now X, has been a success. Though the company has experienced some user flight, the same is true for a number of the major social media platforms in the United Kingdom and may also represent a broader clean-up of the platform in general. While user figures are down, Musk has been able to hold off the rise of a “Twitter killer” some predicted would arrive, especially with big hitters like Threads launching in recent months.

 Perhaps most importantly for X, our data shows that those who remain are still highly engaged with what the platform has to offer – these loyal users seem to be just as happy to spend their time on X as they were prior to his takeover. The recent announcement that X will begin to offer two subscription tiers is targeted precisely at these loyal users, who’s ongoing engagement is thought to point to their receptivity to premium features. However, the broader challenge Musk faces is maintaining the loyalty of a wide user base, continuing to ensure the platform reflects the desires of an increasingly demanding mobile audience. Engagement is everything when it comes to social media, and providing users with numerous reasons to log on to a platform is key to enduring success.”

Methodology

App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected nationwide from consumers participating in our market research program.

These real-life consumers use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day, so the mobile analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of the nation’s mobile connectivity experience. GWS collects consumer data anonymously from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is anonymously collected and reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.K. adult population. In addition, GWS can survey participating consumers to understand sentiment and perception.

About GWS

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.

For more information visit https://www.gwsolutions.com/

Media Contact

Adam Hudson/Sam Hughes
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

The post U.K. user loyalty still strong a year on from Musk’s Twitter (X) takeover appeared first on GWS.

Users taking flight

• X (formally Twitter) has seen its daily active user numbers fall by 7% from 23.2m in July 2023 to 21.6m today – a decline of 1.6m users since the company rebranded to X
• Other social media companies have had mixed results over the same timeframe. During the same period (July 23 – October 23) Facebook’s daily active user numbers increased 1% from 119.8m to 121.5m, Snapchat’s declined 4% from 37.6m to 36.1m and TikTok’s declined 1% from 48.8m to 48.2m

But Twitter (X) loyalists remaining loyal

• Despite losing a significant number of users, those who remain continue to engage with X. Over the past quarter, the company has seen the average amount of time each user spends on the platform each day increase from 18.0 minutes to 19.3 minutes, which is an increase of 7%
• Apart from TikTok, which declined from 1% from 81.5 minutes per user to 80.6 minutes per user, Twitter’s social media rivals have also seen an increase. However, Twitter’s percentage growth is more than twice as high of any of the other social media giants, with Facebook’s 3% in second place.

New social media apps on the block

• Bluesky is the fastest growing rival to X. The platform has seen its daily active user numbers double from around 140k at the beginning of September to around 280k as of October 20^th, 2023. However, despite this rapid growth the company still has a user base that is less than 2% of X’s.
• Despite a loud launch, Meta’s new platform rival – Threads – has not seen its user numbers recover to the initial heights it first reached after launch. Threads saw its daily active user numbers plummet below 1 million in late September, recovering slightly to 1.6 million as of October 20th. At present, more than 80% of the daily users on Threads also used Instagram on the same day suggesting that that Threads is reliant on Instagram for its users.
• It is also unclear that Threads is capturing users from Twitter. As of July 2023, 53.8% of Threads users were also using X on same day. That number fell to just 46.7% by mid-October. But those on X who are also active on Threads in the US has shrunk from 7.6% in early July to just 2.7% by mid-October.

Commenting on the data, Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS, said: 

“The jury is still out on whether Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now X, has been a success. Though the company has experienced some user flight, the same is true for a number of the major social media platforms in the United States and may also represent a broader clean-up of the platform in general. While user figures are down, Musk has been able to hold off the rise of a “Twitter killer” some predicted would arrive, especially with big hitters like Threads launching in recent months.

 Perhaps most importantly for X, our data shows that those who remain are still highly engaged with what the platform has to offer – these loyal users seem to be just as happy to spend their time on X as they were prior to his takeover. The recent announcement that X will begin to offer two subscription tiers is targeted precisely at these loyal users, who’s ongoing engagement is thought to point to their receptivity to premium features. However, the broader challenge Musk faces is maintaining the loyalty of a wide user base, continuing to ensure the platform reflects the desires of an increasingly demanding mobile audience. Engagement is everything when it comes to social media, and providing users with numerous reasons to log on to a platform is key to enduring success.”

Methodology

App engagement data was generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected nationwide from consumers participating in our market research program.

These real-life consumers use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day, so the mobile analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of the nation’s mobile connectivity experience. GWS collects consumer data anonymously from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is anonymously collected and reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.S. adult population. In addition, GWS can survey participating consumers to understand sentiment and perception.

About GWS

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.

For more information visit https://www.gwsolutions.com/

Media Contact
Adam Hudson
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

The post U.S. user loyalty still strong a year on from Musk’s Twitter (X) takeover appeared first on GWS.

Real-life mobile usage data from GWS Magnify reveals that Temu’s growth has been so significant in 2023 that it is surpassing legacy brands like eBay, Walmart, and Target, with only Amazon standing in its way:

• Temu’s app engagement continues to skyrocket as GWS Magnify estimates 82.4 million shoppers used the Temu app in September. One year ago in September 2022, Temu had just 4.6 million monthly active users
• eBay and Target have been left behind by Temu. eBay, which boasted just over 40 million shoppers using their app in September of last year, has seen that number fall to a little over 37 million by September 2023. Target has held steady at around the 25 million monthly active users across the year, a figure that is now significantly smaller than Temu’s share
• Amazon continues to lead that pack in terms of the number of shoppers using their app on a monthly basis, averaging 142 million in September 2023. A drop off from the 149 million monthly users Amazon had in September 2022
• Another Chinese challenger brand Shein has also seen impressive growth in 2023. The company saw the number of shoppers using their app monthly rise, from 15.4 million in September 2022 to 29.5 million today

Temu’s rate of growth has been so impressive that GWS Magnify predicts the company will overtake Walmart with more active users  and become the second largest online retailer in the US in terms of consumer engagement. In particular, Walmart’s monthly active users were at 85.5 million in September 2023, slightly ahead of Temu. However, Temu’s impressive and sustained month on month growth means that the company should move past Walmart in terms of online users imminently.

Temu’s growth is even more noticeable when you consider how much time shoppers spend on the app every day.  When looking at GWS Magnify app engagement data, the average amount of time all consumers spend on the app daily (i.e., average daily minutes) stood at 448 million in late September 2023. That has grown from just 8 million in the same time period last year and is only surpassed by Amazon at 534 million minutes.

Temu also currently leads the way across all the major US online retailers in terms of the amount of time each individual user spends on its app per day. Temu users averaged 22 minutes a day on its mobile app in September 2023. Temu’s nearest rival in terms of the amount of time each individual user is spending on the app per day was fellow Chinese eCommerce company Shein, at 12 minutes. Amazon was a little further behind with users spending an average of 11 minutes per day on the Amazon app in September.

Consumers putting price first

GWS also conducted a US-based survey to understand customer sentiment, motivation, and spend when shopping online. And the results clearly demonstrate that Temu’s prioritization of low prices is hitting home with shoppers. When asked how shopping at Temu made them feel, the low prices offered by the company stood out for the majority (65%). What’s more, many consumers seemed willing to compromise on other features of the shopping experience with Temu in return for low prices. Just less than one in three (30%) said they were happy with the speed of deliveries offered by Temu, compared to over half (52%) of Amazon shoppers. Likewise, less than a fifth (19%) said they were happy with the refund process, compared to a third (32%) at Amazon.

Further to this, consumers seemed unaware or unbothered by the allegations of import violations and human rights abuses. Two out of three Temu shoppers (65%) were not aware of the allegations. And for those that were aware, less than one in ten Temu shoppers (9%) said they were concerned with potential human rights violations by the company. Also notable, over half (54%) of the Temu shoppers who were aware of the allegations said they continued to shop with the company because of the low prices.

Temu’s low pricing model as a means to growth is also evident in the average amount spent by Temu shoppers per transaction.  On the last Amazon Prime Day held in July 2023, one in five consumers (19%) said they spent over $100 dollars. Whereas, just 8% of shoppers are spending the same amount with Temu with each transaction. On the other hand, 40% of Temu shoppers spend $20 or less per transaction vs. 20% for Amazon.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO and co-founder of GWS Magnify commented: “The launch of a second Prime Day shows just how aware Amazon is that consumers are currently prioritizing lower prices above all. The challenging economic climate has allowed new low-cost brands to emerge and displace older US rivals. Temu’s strategy of offering bargain deals, with quickfire offers available over its mobile app, has led to an engagement boom with company now cementing itself as a clear force in US retail. Amazon, an online shopping brand that traditionally prides itself on putting the customer first, is still leading the pack, but with millions of shoppers happy to compromise on delivery times or look past controversies, Amazon should be wary of Temu’s rise.”

Notes to editors 

Survey and app engagement data were generated using Magnify, GWS’s mobile intelligence data platform. Magnify is comprised of key insights collected nationwide from consumers participating in our market research program. These are real-life consumers who use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day, so that the mobile analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture of the nation’s mobile connectivity experience. GWS collects consumer this data anonymously from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever the consumers use their devices. Data is anonymously collected and reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.S. adult population. In addition to collecting app engagement data, GWS is able to survey participating consumers to understand sentiment and perception. The survey referenced in this release was conducted between July 25 and August 1, 2023 and included 2,027 respondents. App engagement data referenced in the release was collected between September 2022 and September 2023.

GWS Media Contacts
Adam Hudson
0207 291 0255
[email protected]

About GWS

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioral data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.

The post Temu Set to Become Amazon’s Main Online Rival After Mammoth Year of Growth appeared first on GWS.

Daily active users

• X’s (formally Twitter’s) average daily user numbers have remained steady in both the US and UK since early July, maintaining its presence through the rebrand and the rise of Threads. The company continues to average around 22 million active users each day in the US and 6 million active users each day in the UK
• In contrast, daily active users of Threads have fallen significantly in both markets – down from around 3.4 million users per day at the beginning of July in the US to just 1.2 million as of mid-August. Likewise in the UK, Threads has seen its daily active user numbers crash by nearly 1 million. The company averaged around 1.4 million users each day in early July but as of mid-August that figure stands at just 430,000.

Daily sessions per user

• In the UK, Threads has also seen its average daily sessions per user fall dramatically from around 4.7 each day in July to just 1.8 in mid-August.. X’s user base, however, checked into the platform around 5 times a day throughout this period with little variation.
• In the US, there has been a slightly less significant drop in daily sessions per user, which went from roughly 4.6 at the beginning of July to 2.6 in mid-August, whilst X users maintained a 4.4 average over this period.

X and Threads overlapping users

• According to GWS’ data from UK mobile users, the percentage of Threads users who are also active on X has held steady around the 30% mark since its launch in early July. On the other hand, only 2.5% of X users are also on Threads.
• There is a slightly higher percentage increase in the US of Threads users who are also active on X, with the number peaking at 53.8% in early July before falling to an average of roughly 45% in mid-August. Those on X who are also active on Threads in the US has shrunk from 7.6% in early July to just 2.8% by mid-August.

 Commenting on the data, Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS, said:

“When a company goes through a major rebrand, the expectation is that it will solidify its market position and make steps to attract a new audience. Elon Musk’s major overhaul of Twitter’s branding, adopting the X name and logo, might have attracted controversy, especially at a time when the company faces the looming threat of a well-funded rival in Threads. However, real time mobile data from social media users across the UK and the US shows Twitter continues to hold steady despite external threats.

The same, however, cannot be said for its main new rival Threads and its parent company Meta. The so called “Twitter-killer” burst onto the scene in early July attracting those disillusioned with Twitter’s recent moves. However, despite initial success the company has seen its user numbers plummet in the UK by nearly 1 million since launch, and over 2 million in the US, a drop of nearly 70% across both locations. And in a world that is inherently mobile, especially when it comes to social media, it is questionable as to whether launching a website will change Threads’ fortunes.

While you might expect more X users to have migrated over to Threads following launch – in fact the opposite is true. Our data shows that 30% of Threads’ daily users are on Twitter, but just 2.5% of X users are also on Threads in the UK, while in the US we see that 45% of Threads users are also on X, while just 2.8% of X users are also on Threads. The mass exodus from one platform to the other just hasn’t occurred.”

Methodology

All data was collected from GWS’ opt-in, app-engagement panel of participants from both the UK and the US (both 18+). This is a panel of real-life consumers who use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day, so that the mobile analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture on the nation’s mobile connectivity experience.

About GWS

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 25 years.

For more information and mobile insights visit GWS.

Media Contact

Adam Hudson
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

The post Twitter (X) holds steady, but Threads continues to unravel appeared first on GWS.

Real-life consumer user data from mobile analytics and business intelligence firm GWS released today shows:

A broad decline in Target’s mobile app usage

Target has seen a fall of 8.6% in the number daily active users on its mobile app over the quarter —down from 4 million each day in Q2 2022 to just 3.7 million in Q2 2023.

• The company averaged just 4 million daily active users on its mobile app in July 2023 – a 4.7% decline from the same time period last year.
• The data reveals that female users saw the biggest decline in Q2 2023, down 14% compared to the same period last year. By comparison, male users of the app saw a smaller decline of just 4% over the quarter.
• Despite the decline, there is some positive news for Target as mobile app users rebounded in July to 4 million – up from 3.5 million in June and 3.6 million in May 2023.
• The data reveals that those aged 44 and younger are moving away from the app at the fastest rate, as Target’s daily active app users aged 18-24, 25-34 and 35-44 has declined 19%, 15% and 17% over the last quarter compared to the same period in 2022
• In contrast, those aged 45-54 saw no decline in their use of the Target app over the quarter compared to the same period last year, and the number of daily active users aged 55 and above increased by 3%.

Walmart, Shein and Temu gaining ground on mobile

• Whereas the number of daily active users on Target’s mobile app have dropped by 8.6% over the last quarter compared to the same period in 2022, Walmart has grown its mobile app usage by 5% over the same period. This is particularly significant as the data shows that 28% of Target’s mobile app customers are also Walmart mobile app customers.
• Other challenger apps Temu and Shein have also seen increases in mobile app users – although they see a lower overlap with Target’s user base than Walmart.
• Temu has added nearly 10 million new daily users since the turn of the year. Its growth has been so significant that it now ties for the second most used shopping app with Walmart at around 17 million daily users.
• Shein has also seen impressive growth in 2023, increasing its daily users from 3.1 million to 4.9 million daily users over the past year.
• Women also dominate both Temu and Shein’s user base. Over two thirds (69%) of Temu’s extensive audience are female. This rises to 90% of female users on Shein which has just 10% of men on its mobile app audience.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO of GWS commented: “Target’s app decline shows that all companies, from main street megastores to smaller shops, must adopt a mobile-first approach to shopping which consumers crave. Despite tough retail conditions, Walmart’s mobile app is on the rise, and given the overlap in user base between the two firms, it’s likely that this rise, as well as a boom in cheap shopping apps like Temu, is at Target’s expense. In recent days we’ve seen Target announce innovations to its app like the launch of its Starbucks Drive Up perk, showing the firm recognizes the importance of mobile-led retail, but more must be done to enhance its mobile experience and understand the needs and wants of its mobile audience if it is to thrive in the future.” 

ENDS

Methodology

All data was collected from GWS’ opt-in, app-engagement panel. This is a panel of real-life consumers who use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day, so that the mobile analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture on the nation’s mobile connectivity experience. The panel collects consumer data anonymously from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever consumers use their devices. Panelists (aged 18+) are recruited from the top 41 metropolitan areas across the US along with consumers located in less populated areas (overall covering 98% of the U.S. population). Approximately 54 million data points are generated daily by panelists. Data is anonymously collected and reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.S. adult population.

About GWS

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 27 years.

For more information visit GWS here.

Media Contact

Adam Hudson
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

The post Missed Target: Retail Giant’s Mobile App Users Down 8.6% Year-on-Year as Walmart Sees App Gains appeared first on GWS.

Real-life consumer user data from mobile analytics and business intelligence firm GWS, reveals that Amazon’s dominance is under threat, with user numbers falling sharply in 2023 as new rivals continue their near-meteoric rise:

• Since April 2023 Amazon’s user numbers have crashed, falling from an average of 54 million to 46 million users daily – a decline of nearly 8 million daily users in the past nine months. That said the company still boasts double the number of daily users than its nearest competitor.
• Temu, has continued its near meteoric rise in the US, adding nearly 10 million new daily users since the turn of the year. Its growth has been so significant that it now ties for the second most used shopping app with Walmart at around 17 million daily users.
• Shein has also seen impressive growth in 2023, increasing its daily users from 3.1 million to 4.9 million daily users over the past year

In terms of the amount of time spent on each retail app, Temu currently dominates at an average of 20 minutes for each user a day. Both Amazon and Shein are further behind at an average of 12 minutes and 14 minutes for each user respectively.

Yet despite falling user numbers in the US market, Amazon does not suffer from demographic dominance like it’s new international rivals, where the company’s mobile app user base is more evenly split with 41% male and 59% female users. Whereas, for Temu women dominate at 69% compared to just 31% of male users. This rises to 90% of female users on Shein which has just 10% of men on its mobile app audience.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS, commented: “For years Amazon has gone all but unchallenged when it comes to offering the complete ecommerce package to consumers, and much of its success has been via its mobile app. However, mobile analytics data from GWS shows how brand loyalty on retail shopping apps moves quickly during challenging economic times, and retailers need to stay on top of the curve or risk getting left behind. While apps like Temu and Shein are seeing significant rises at the moment, expanding their customer bases beyond their faithful female audiences will be crucial for lasting growth and success if they want to pose a genuine threat to Amazon.”

Methodology

All data was collected from GWS’ opt-in, app-engagement panel. This is a panel of real-life consumers who use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day, so that the mobile analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture on the nation’s mobile connectivity experience. The panel collects consumer data anonymously from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever consumers use their devices. Panelists (aged 18+) are recruited from the top 41 metropolitan areas across the US along with consumers located in less populated areas (overall covering 98% of the U.S. population). Approximately 54 million data points are generated daily by panelists. Data is anonymously collected and reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.S. adult population.

About GWS

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 25 years.

For more information visit https://www.gwsolutions.com/

Media Contact

Adam Hudson
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

The post Amazon Loses Millions of Users Ahead of Prime Day as Temu and Shein Explode in US appeared first on GWS.

Consumer usage data from mobile analytics and business intelligence firm GWS reveals that Amazon’s dominance is under threat, with user numbers falling sharply in 2023 as new rivals continue their near-meteoric rise:

• Since the start of the year Amazon has lost over 1 million daily mobile app users in the UK. In January 2023 around 9.3 million daily shoppers used its app, a figure that his since declined to 8.3 million.
• Temu, which launched in April 2023, saw its daily mobile user numbers grow sharply in one month’s time to around 3.5 million. However, since May 2023, its growth has plateaued with similar numbers of users on the app today.
• Shein has also seen impressive growth in 2023, doubling its daily users from 1 to 2 million over the past six months.
• E-commerce powerhouse eBay has also seen its fortunes turn, with daily mobile app users declining by nearly 2 million since January 2023 (from nearly 6 million at the turn of of this year to its current rate of 4.2 million).
• Vinted continues to hold steady in terms of user numbers. The company currently boasts around 2 million daily users with the amount of time users are spending on the app only exceeded by Temu

Temu currently dominates in terms the amount of time each consumer is spending on its app, at an average 18 minutes a day, with Vinted coming in second with 14 minutes.  The other major retail apps all fell behind: Shein, eBay and Amazon all averaged just 8 minutes per user each day on their apps.

Yet despite falling user numbers in the UK market, Amazon does not suffer from demographic dominance like its new international rivals, where the company’s mobile app user base is more evenly split between 44% male and 56% female users. Whereas, for Temu, women dominate mobile app usage at 66%, compared to just 34% of male users. This rises to 90% of female users on Shein which has just 10% of men on its mobile app.

Dr Paul Carter, CEO, GWS, commented: “For years Amazon has gone all but unchallenged when it comes to offering the complete ecommerce package to consumers, and much of its success has been via its mobile app. However, mobile analytics data from GWS shows how brand loyalty on retail shopping apps moves quickly during challenging economic times, and retailers need to stay on top of the curve or risk getting left behind. While apps like Temu and Shein are seeing significant rises at the moment, expanding their customer bases beyond their faithful female audiences will be crucial for lasting growth and success if they want to pose a genuine threat to Amazon.”

Methodology

All data was collected from GWS’ opt-in, app-engagement panel of 5,200 participants (18+) from around the UK. This is a panel of real-life consumers who use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day, so that the mobile analytics data GWS gathers provides the most accurate picture on the nation’s mobile connectivity experience.

About GWS

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 25 years.

For more information visit https://www.gwsolutions.com/

Media Contact

Adam Hudson
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

The post Amazon UK Loses One Million Daily Users Ahead of Prime Day as Temu and Shein Explode appeared first on GWS.

The result follows six months of extensive data collection from GWS, where the company analysed over 143,000 speed and reliability tests from across the UK’s major mobile operators and their associated ISP partners with bundled partnerships in place. The tests, which were run at random times, seven days a week, measured reliability and performance across uploads, downloads, and video streaming on both the mobile network and WiFi. The tests were conducted on the devices of real-life users from GWS’ proprietary opt-in consumer panel of 5,200 participants (18+). In addition to network performance data, GWS also collected insights into app usage and other mobile trends.

Fig 1: Final Results: UK’s Best Combined Connectivity Experience

Dr. Paul Carter, CEO, Global Wireless Solutions, commented: “In today’s world, we want a reliable and fast mobile internet connection at all times. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing, you just need your data connection to work. Consumers want the full package – more people are taking out bundled services for mobile and broadband, and data usage is up. But despite big market consolidation, it’s hard to know which is the best overall provider if you’re using both ISP and mobile operator services. That’s why we decided to shed the light on real-life performance of mobile and WiFi bundle offerings, giving the most informed view of the connectivity experience people are getting on their phones, wherever they are.”

 Network Performance Results

 Fig 2: UK’s Best Combined Connectivity Experience – Test Score Breakdown

Over the six months tested, the fastest download speeds by a combined provider were seen by Virgin Media O2 at a staggering 138Mbps average, followed by BT/EE at 64Mbps. With average download speeds across all major combined providers currently sitting at 82Mbps, Virgin Media O2 was the only provider to offer above average speeds.

When looking at uploads, Virgin Media O2 offered impressive performance again, leading the way at 26 Mbps. BT/EE was just behind at 21Mbps, with Sky/Sky Mobile (17Mbps), Vodafone (16Mbps), and Three (15 Mbps) trailing much further behind.

GWS’ testing also looked into the consumer impact of these results, testing one of the most internet reliant consumer activities – video. Virgin Media O2 not only had the fastest download speeds, but when watching videos, the provider also tied with Sky/Sky Mobile for the highest combined resolution and lowest buffering times.

When looking at reliability, GWS measured whether or not simulated tasks were completed or not, and found over 96% success rate across all providers (operator and ISP) tested.

Connectivity is Key

As mobile services continue to grow in popularity, GWS found that the average consumer now spends over a quarter (27%) of their waking day on their phones, with productivity and social media apps leading the way. UK consumer use of video-led apps, such as Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok, was also consistent at all times of the day, regardless of whether a person was connected to WiFi or using mobile data.  

Paul Carter, CEO, Global Wireless Solutions, concludes: “Consumers are facing a cost-of-living crisis, but mobile usage is thriving. Even in a post covid world, we’re seeing record breaking stats on mobile as people spend more time working, socialising, and managing their lives from their devices. When we poll mobile users through our panel, we see clear trends around how stressed they get when they don’t have a reliable internet connection. Having a good connectivity experience is so important in today’s world where we just need our phones to work well, whether we’re on 4G, 5G, or WiFi. In a society that is increasingly wireless, mobile operators and ISPs need to make sure they are providing the best networks for their customers, and brands need to understand how people are using their phones – or risk getting left behind.”

Methodology

All data was collected from GWS’ opt-in consumer panel of 5,200 participants (18+) from around the UK. This is a panel of real-life users who use their phones and tablet devices as normal throughout the day; as a result, the data GWS gathered provided the most accurate picture of the nation’s mobile connectivity experience. From this nationally representative sample of people, GWS conducted a series of tests in the background, measuring and analyzing network reliability and performance.

GWS conducted over 143,000 speed and reliability tests during a six-month test period (October 24, 2022 through April 24, 2023) to determine the results. Tests were run at random times, seven days a week, and looked at reliability and performance across uploads, downloads, and video streaming on the mobile network and WiFi. Only combined connectivity tests were included, meaning that only tests from a mobile network and that operator’s broadband partner were factored into reliability/performance scoring. For example, EE test results from an EE panelist were paired with BT test results from that panelist. Data was anonymously collected and reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. As well as benchmarking connectivity performance, GWS also conducts regular surveys polling panelists about how their network is performing. All information collected was weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.K. population (aged 18+). Tests were conducted on Android smartphones/tablets, collecting both indoor and outdoor connectivity data.

About GWS

For most consumers today, their mobile device is their life’s remote control. As an independent mobile insights consulting firm, GWS measures every aspect of how people live, work, and play via their mobile devices – as well as how mobile network performance affects them.

Combining our market-leading network benchmarking technology and methodology with deep behavioural data, we help businesses and organizations to drive innovation and deliver better customer experiences through mobile insights, anywhere in the world. Championing the needs of mobile users by understanding and testing the things that matter to them, we’ve evolved our technology and services in step with the needs of industry and consumers for over 25 years.

For more details download The Best Combined Connectivity Experience Report

For more information about GWS visit https://www.gwsolutions.com/

Media Contact
Adam Hudson
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

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The data, from mobile-powered consumer intelligence company GWS, tracked the behavior and use of drivers on the likes of Uber Driver, Lyft Driver, and other rideshare apps. The findings demonstrate the success of Uber’s focus on providing more opportunities for women to find flexible employment:

Uber leaves Lyft on the curb

• Both Uber Driver and Lyft Driver usage dropped substantially after February 2020 when the pandemic began, but while Uber Driver has now recovered to pre-pandemic levels, Lyft Driver usage has not come close to hitting its pre-COVID highs
• Uber is currently averaging 1.4 million daily users on its U.S. driver app, similar to its pre-pandemic levels
• Lyft, however, has seen the 800 thousand daily users of its driver app before the pandemic crash by 50% to just 400 thousand today
• Lyft’s decline began pre-pandemic with its high of 1.1 million daily drivers achieved back in January 2019, falling to 800 thousand by January 2020
• In terms of riders, data shows that Uber had 50% more daily riders than Lyft over the last 10 months (since May 2022).

Women drivers close gap on men

• In March 2019, male drivers across all driver apps exceeded females by nearly 2:1 (1.9 million to 1.0 million). However, the gap narrowed substantially by March 2023 with now 2.3 million male drivers to 2 million women
• Female driver app users now exceed men at the younger categories (18-24 and 25-34). They also only narrowly trail behind men in the 35-44 bracket
• However, when looking at drivers over the age of 45, men continue to dominate, substantially leading women in terms of total users

Dr Paul Carter, CEO of GWS commented: “The mobile-powered gig-economy is now back on strong footing after pandemic lows and driver shortages hampered success in recent years. Uber’s ability to attract new drivers, and in particular female drivers, has been core to the success of its ride sharing and delivery business. This is indicative of a wider trend in our economy. Smartphones have not just transformed behavior on the consumer side but have also empowered new groups to find flexible employment. This has allowed businesses like Uber to diversify its offering from rides to deliveries, with Uber Eats. Only through an understanding of the behavior and motivations of workers who have powered the rideshare revolution and wider gig-economy, can businesses operating in this space hope to keep pace long term. For Uber, success begins with the smartphone and an understanding of what brings consumers and workers onto their apps.”

Methodology

Usage data was extracted from GWS’s U.S. One Measure Consumer Panel (OMCP). The OMCP is an opt-in consumer panel that measures mobile app usage and content, mobile network performance, and consumer perceptions. The OMCP collects consumer data anonymously from Android smartphones 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whenever and wherever consumers use their devices. OMCP panelists (aged 18+) are recruited from the top 41 metropolitan areas across the US along with consumers located in less populated areas (overall covering 98% of the U.S. population). Approximately 54 million data points are generated daily by panelists. Data is anonymously collected and reported in aggregate for market research purposes only. All information collected is weighted to a user’s demographic representation of the U.S. adult population.

Driver apps include: Dasher, Grubhub for Drivers, Lyft Driver, Point Pickup Driver, Roadie Driver, Spark Driver, Uber Driver

Media Contact
Adam Hudson
Diffusion PR
[email protected]

The post Uber leaves Lyft on the curb via female driver revolution appeared first on GWS.