Some 40% of US consumers say they currently pay for news, fashion, sports, or business digital content, even though 70% say they access those categories of content online regularly, according to a recent report from CloudSense.
This reluctance to pay for digital media is true even for the "digital native" generation: 45% of the 16-24-year-olds surveyed say they spend money on any sort of digital content from publishers.
Below, additional key findings from the report, which was based on data from a survey of 4,000 consumers in the United States and United Kingdom.
Willingness to Pay
- Just 24% of respondents in the US say they are willing to pay to subscribe to exclusive content from digital publishers. In the UK this model is even less appealing: Only 7% of respondents say they would pay to subscribe.
- Moreover, only 11% of respondents say they are willing to pay on an ad hoc basis for this sort of content from online publishers.
Current Amount Spent on Content
Even those consumers who do currently pay for online content from publishers spend relatively little; in the US, the average weekly spend is just $1.61, and in the UK it is £1.86.
Media Consumption Habits
- 76% of respondents say they consume media both online and on their televisions.
- 88% say they have not bought any printed media in the past month.
- 68% of US respondents and 45% of UK respondents say they access content from online publishers daily.
About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of 4,000 respondents in the United States and United Kingdom (2,000 in the US, 2,000 in the UK).
