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There’s a new generation of consumers leading the mobile charge in the U.S., but for once they’re not the youngest. Today they’re poised to change the game for providers of connected products and services.

Young consumers are typically quickest to adopt new technologies, and mobile has been no exception. Today, however, there are signs of change in the U.S. Although 18- to 24-year-olds have long been the leaders in U.S. mobile technology usage, 25- to 34-year-olds now appear to be at the forefront of this trend, according to Deloitte’s recently published 2016 Global Mobile Consumer Survey.

Deloitte’s global telecom practice has been tracking consumer attitudes toward mobile technology annually since 2011. The 2016 survey is its biggest and most extensive to date, covering five continents, 31 countries, and nearly 53,000 respondents, including 2,000 from the U.S.

This year, the generational shift is particularly notable. In the U.S., 25- to 34-year-olds are now twice as likely as adjacent age groups to classify themselves as early technology adopters, with 44 percent saying they buy new devices as soon as they hit the market. These consumers purchased more smartphones in 2016 than any other age group, making them a lucrative target market for the latest gadgets.

This demographic frequently uses mobile devices more heavily than other age groups, including 18- to 24-year-olds. For example, 40 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds now use VoIP, a jump of 21 percentage points since the 2015 survey. That’s a far bigger increase than was seen in any other age group. More than three-quarters of them say they check their devices in the middle of the night, compared with just 50 percent of U.S. consumers overall.

They are also more likely to take advantage of mobile payments (mPayments). In fact, 25- to 34-year-olds are twice as likely to make weekly in-store mPayments as 18- to 24-year-olds. They continue to be the biggest users of wearables, and their interest in internet of things (IoT) solutions—particularly those involving the connected home—has grown. In almost all categories, they are the most likely to value, and be willing to pay for, home IoT solutions. For example, 80 percent say they would pay more for IoT-enabled home monitoring, versus 50 percent of the population as a whole.

These consumers are almost twice as likely as 18- to 24-year-olds to say they are “very likely” to buy an autonomous car. Many say they are willing to pay significantly more for a range of connected home and car solutions. They’re also the most optimistic about smart cities and services, expressing the opinion that smart energy, smart transportation, and smart health care would make their communities more livable.

The reason for the shift toward 25- to 34-year-olds is not entirely clear. It could simply indicate that a generation that has grown up with technology is coming into its own. Or perhaps the shift reflects the confluence of rapid growth in new technologies with this group’s ability to pay for them. Regardless of the reason, the enthusiasm of this demographic for mobile technology has significant implications for players seeking to monetize their products and services.

Many of the survey’s other findings confirm prior trends. Overall mobile phone usage in the U.S., for example, continues to rise. More than 40 percent of U.S. consumers now check their phones within five minutes of waking up; nearly 90 percent look at them within an hour. Altogether, consumers check their phones about 47 times a day.

Text and other short forms of communication have begun to dominate. For the first time across all age groups, the largest portion of U.S. consumers (35 percent) say they access texts or instant messages first every day. Email comes in second, at 22 percent.

Although smartphone penetration growth for some age groups has begun to slow, with many approaching saturation, the market for smartphones among consumers aged 45 and above is still robust, increasing by more than 20 percent year over year. The wearables market also continues to grow, with smartwatches tripling their market penetration from a paltry 4 percent to 12 percent, and fitness bands moving from 10 percent to 17 percent. Consumer interest in the IoT, particularly services for the car and home, has also increased significantly, as has willingness to pay for such capabilities.

Click here to enlarge the infographic.

—by Craig Wigginton, vice chairman and U.S. telecommunications leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP; and Mike Curran, senior manager, Deloitte Services LP