2. Introduction
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
The internet was introduced in the 1960s and was used by the US Government to transfer data. In 1983 the
TCP/IP (Transfer control protocol/internetwork protocol) was established, meaning every network was
connected by a universal language. The world Wide Web (WWW) was created in the 1990s which allowed
over 255 million users to access the internet. Companies such as Google and Amazon were born during this
time.
Now the internet has global and local networks serving public, private, academic and government purposes
to over 4.5 billion internet users worldwide.
3. Accessing The Internet
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
The Internet can be used via
Computers
Mobile Phones
Tablets
Personal Digital Assistant
Gaming Machines
Digital TV
In richer countries more than two thirds of the population are online. In the developing world online usage is much
lower but is increasing. In 2005 there was over 1 billion people using the internet the top countries were the United
States and China. In 2021 China continues to have the most amount of internet users.
4. Our World in Data (2017)
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
6. Our World in Data (2017)
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
7. The internet speed 10 year ago averaged around 5Mbps whereas today the average speed is around 100Mbps.
The internet speed a decade ago would be fine when searching the web and streaming videos but would not be good for people who wanted 4K video streaming and
downloads apps and software's.
Insider (2019)
Average internet connection speed in the US from 2007 – 2017 (in Mbps), by quarter
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
8. Devices Used by Consumers
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Digital Devices
Smartphone
Laptop
Radio
Tablet
DVD Player
Smart TV
Desktop PC
MP3 Player
Wearables
Almost 15 year ago DVD Players, MP3 Players and Desktop PC’s were the most used digital devices. As
technology advanced the smartphone became the most used digital device around the world with tablets and
laptops following them. The evolution of digital devices has grown over the years to consumer wants and
needs, now many older devices do not exist or do not get made anymore.
9. British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Statista (2018)
10. British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Searching Information
In 2021 Google remains to be the biggest information source consumers use to gather information
and recommendations.
When searching for products online the 3 main websites people use the most are Amazon, eBay and
social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Etc.). Companies are using SEO and paid advertising to
attract online users the biggest company for online purchses is Amazon as it is a worldwide, highly
recommended website that appears on almost every product search.
12. British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
As technology has advance consumers now shop online for many items. Items such as book.
Music, movies and video games are more commonly purchased online as many of them are
digital e.g. eBooks, are easy to download and read instead of purchasing a hard copy and
waiting for it to arrive.
Many clothes are bought online in recent years with fast fashion companies such as Boohoo
and pretty Little Thing fast expanding.
Items like groceries and furniture still have a high percentage of in store purchases as
consumers don’t find it as easy to shop online for these things. However apps like Uber eats
and Just eat are making it easier for people to shop for their groceries online increasing the
amount of online purchases recently.
Consumer Purchases
14. Video Content
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Over recent years video content has became a big part of online marketing, this is due to the
increase of marketing on social media. Brands create video content across all social media
platforms e.g. Instagram stories/live, Facebook stories/live Etc.)
Users
Now expect online marketing videos from brands
Use videos to learn about their passions and interests
Want authentic content
(WeKnowVideo, 2021)
15. British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Statista (2019)
16. Hours spent by consumers in a week on video content worldwide July-
December 2021
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Statista (2021)
17. Evolution of Technology Usage
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Throughout the years the use of technology has changed massively from only a small amount of people able to
access the internet to accessing the internet on multiple devices and searching for information in many ways. What
consumers buy online and how they buy online has change throughout the past 5 year, many people now use
smartphones for all their online needs such as shopping for products, searching for information and watching things
they love technology has slowly taken over to suit everyone's needs.
In the past 5 year the use of smartwatches has tremendously increased as it makes calling, messaging and
much more simpler for everyday use. Using smartwatches saves people time as many people are now using
voice messages to communicate online. Smartwatches are forecast to sell more and more over the coming
years and will most likely become more advanced.
18. Number of connected wearable devices worldwide 2016-2021
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Statista (2017)
19. Summary
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
From only the US government being able to access the internet to over 4 billion people technology has
impacted the world immensely throughout the years. Since devices started to evolve consumers have
evolved with them. With new developments in technology a rise in online users is forecast for the future.
Conducting this researched has helped me understand what consumers are doing online and how it
impacts online businesses. With this data it shows me how brands can forecast what type of content they
will create on certain platforms and how they will present it.
20. Reference List
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing
Max Roser, Hanna Ritchie and Esteban Ortile-Ospinaj (2015), Internet, Our World in Data
https://ourworldindata.org/internet
Unknown (2015, Which types of devices have browsers, Device Atlas
https://deviceatlas.com/blog/which-devices-have-browsers
Peter Roesler (2016), How consumers search and shop online, Inc.
https://www.inc.com/peter-roesler/nielsen-study-shows-how-consumers-search-and-shop-online.html
Unknown (2022), 15 eye-opening online shopping statistics for 2022, Sleeknote
https://sleeknote.com/blog/online-shopping-statistics
Joseph Johnson (2021), Global Digital Population as of January 2021, Statista
https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/
S, O’Dea (2020), Average internet connection speed in the United States from 2007 to 2017 (in Mbps), by quarter, Statista
https://www.statista.com/statistics/616210/average-internet-connection-speed-in-the-us/
Antonio Villas-Boas (2019), here's how far internet speeds have come, Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/internet-speeds-have-gotten-dramatically-faster-over-past-decade-2019-11?r=US&IR=T
Unknown (2018), The evolution of digital device ownership in the UK, Statista
https://www.statista.com/chart/14981/the-evolution-of-digital-device-ownership-in-the-uk/
Isabel Von Kessel (2017) Where Do We Buy What?, Statista
https://www.statista.com/chart/10292/shopping-online-and-in-store/
21. Joseph Johnson (2021), Online search usage – Statistics & facts, Statista
https://www.statista.com/topics/1710/search-engine-usage/#dossierKeyfigures
Unknown (Unknown), How Video Consumption has Changed in 2021, WeKnowVideo
https://weknowvideo.com.au/2020/09/how-video-consumption-has-changed-in-2020/
Julia Stoll (2021), Hours spent by video consumers in a typical week on video content worldwide as of 2nd quarter 2021, by platform, Statista
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1276963/hours-video-consumption-typical-weekly-platform/
Lionel Sujay Vailshery (2021), Number of connected wearable devices worldwide from 2016 to 2022, Statista
https://www.statista.com/statistics/487291/global-connected-wearable-devices/
British Academy of Digital Marketing – Evolution of Digital Marketing