5G technology offers multiple benefits for users but how many consumers are ready to bear the added costs for high-speed internet and better connectivity?
A new analysis from YouGov reveals that a majority of consumers in the United States and Great Britain are not yet willing to pay more to access 5G technology (54% and 67% respectively).
The data shows that while a higher share of American consumers indicate that they are prepared to pay more for 5G (24%), only 14% of Brits say the same.
Notably, a sizable proportion of consumers from both markets haven’t made up their mind, with 19% in Britain and 22% in the US still on the fence about paying more for 5G.
Almost seven in ten Brits – and half of Americans – are not willing to pay more. This is seen among GB consumers across all age groups, and the share of those 55+ who are not willing to pay more is slightly more than three-quarters (76%), making this group a hard nut to crack for 5G marketers.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger GB consumers are more likely to be prepared to pay more for 5G while the share of older Brits who say the same is significantly lower. There’s almost a 20-point difference between 18-24-year-olds (25%) and those aged 55 and above (5%).
The data also reveals that British men are significantly more likely to be ready to pay more than women (17% vs. 10%).
While we see a similar age skew in the US, with younger consumers more likely to be ready to pay more compared to the older generation, the share of Americans who agree is higher than the Brits across all age groups. However, there is still a considerable difference between those aged between 18-24 and 55+ (38% vs. 11%).
One of the reasons why a large share of consumers in both markets are not willing to pay more for 5G could perhaps be because almost half of the British population (49%) say that they don’t understand what the big deal about 5G is. This share is only slightly lower among American consumers (41%). A significant proportion of consumers in both the US and GB are still undecided as a little over a third of the consumers say they neither agree nor disagree with the statement (34% and 33% respectively).
This opinion is seemingly driven by confusion and apathy, as almost half of the population in both the US and GB agree that 5G advertising is not very informative and the other half is on the fence. This perhaps indicates that network/carriers and OEMs need to do a better job educating the public on 5G consumer benefits.
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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.
