Spotify UK and Ireland have revealed a series of consumer trends that have been tracked since Jan 2021, providing a deep dive into shifts in listening behaviours as we come out of lockdown.
Spotify has identified a number of trends play out across the platform in the wake of the third national lockdown and now as social distancing begins to ease.
- The Podcast Boom & Late-Night Listening
- Revenge bedtime procrastination hits new heights: UK listeners are increasing their late-night listening engagement, with an increase in late night podcast streams. Nighttime sees a 5% increase in podcast listening versus the daily average, and there’s a 22% increase in late night (midnight to 6am) listening versus pre-1st lockdown levels.
- Women aged 25-44 are maintaining the biggest shifts in late-night listening: While Gen Zs led the trend in late-night listening in the early days of the pandemic, it seems Millennials (and in particular, Millennial Women) more recently have been increasing engagement with their favourite podcasts after-hours. The increase in overnight podcast streams is now 15% higher than the average for women aged 25-44 since restrictions eased on 8th March.
- Listeners are prioritising entertainment and self-care late at night: We’re seeing that users are focusing their late-night podcast listening on entertainment (games, music, true crime) self care (religion, spirituality, education). When looking at overnight streams of podcast genres compared to the average: games are +93% higher than average increase; religion and spirituality are +51% higher; and education is +20% higher.
2. Back In The Swing of Things
- On the road: Listening out of home is on the rebound and being added to the in-home routines formed during the last year. There has been a 60% increase in average daily streams in-car since restrictions have eased, and an 11% increase in mobile use.
- Renewed love of the outdoors: The UK’s renewed love of the outdoors continues with an 18% increase in average daily streams of Outdoor Activities, and Gen X in particular engaging with the outdoor activities at +15% higher than the average.
- Boomers getting into the travel spirit: Boomers appear to be the first group jumping back into travel moments, with a 16% increase in average daily streams of the Travel moment for those 55+.
3. Happy Days are Here Again
- UK listeners appear to be in the mood to party: After months of lockdown, we’re seeing a significant uptick in celebratory streaming moments, with +19% increase in streaming of the Party moment and -7% decrease in streaming of the Chill moment.
- Gen Z, Millennials, and Men appear to be particularly celebratory: Gen Z’s increase in Party moment is +53% higher than average, Millennials’ increase is +26% higher than average, and that of men is +38% higher than average.
- Listening shifts from chill to optimistic and joyful: As restrictions ease in 2021, we’re seeing significant increases in positive mood music, with an increase in streams of ‘carefree’, ‘optimistic’ and ‘joyful’ listening.
Rak Patel, Head of Enterprise Sales, EMEA, says: “The pandemic has had an irrevocable impact on the way people consume content and this year brands have needed to be more agile than ever to reach them in the right places, but also with the right content. At Spotify, we’re in the perfect position to work with our brand partners and advertisers to provide inspiration and guidance on how to create content that reaches and engages their key targets, because when culture happens we see it reflected in the things people listen to on our platform – from the time of day they’re streaming, to the playlists they’re creating and the people they are listening with. It’s been fascinating to observe these new trends on the platform and we’re excited to work on finding creative solutions with brands that tap into them.”
