New research from global communications agency ClearStory International has analysed the rapid surge in interest in the most popular tech trends since coronavirus first emerged, revealing a massive surge in remote working, video conferencing and virtual events.
The Q1 Covid Tech Trend Report identified 14,404 articles across Singapore media that featured mentions of tech trends that emerged under the spotlight as Covid-19 took hold. It assessed the surge in interest in the weeks coming up to the height of the pandemic. Globally, on average, there was a 17,500% increase in interest in video calling while there was an upsurge in interest in remote working by 14,000%.
From their low point in December 2019 to their highest point in the last week of March 2020, the report identifies seven key tech trends and tracks the percentage increase in interest over that period on a topic by topic basis.
In Singapore, the highest surges of interest were recorded as:
- Remote working (increased by 14,800% from low point)
- Video conferencing (increased by 11,300% from low point)
- Virtual events/conferencing (increased by 1,350% from low point)
- E-learning/edtech (increased by 720% from low point)
- Gig economy (increased by 692% from low point)
- Health/med/biotech (increased by 251% from low point)
- E-commerce (increased by 185% from low point)
According to a recent IWG flexible Working Survey, before Covid-19, over 60% of Singaporeans were working remotely on a weekly basis, demonstrating a significant shift in interest in changing work practices since.
In addition to this, research carried out prior to coronavirus has also revealed that in Singapore 4.7 million people were active daily Internet users, with 2.9 million of them having used e-commerce at least once in their lives. This recent data shows interest has soared since, with thousands of Singaporeans turning to online shopping as the virus continues to spread.
Speaking about the report, CEO and founder of ClearStory International, James McCann, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted entire industries and created a significantly different dynamic for those in business and media globally. As governments, companies and societies scramble to adjust to a new reality, this report provides insight into a shift in most talked about sectors since coronavirus took hold.”
The study was carried out from December 2, 2019, to April 5, 2020.
For the full analysis please see the report here.
