Shift in Consumer Habits Amid Lockdown Boosts Livestreaming, Online Courses and Interactive Entertainment Globally(Payoneer )
Payoneer, the digital payment platform empowering businesses around the world to grow globally, shared data that points to enormous growth in the areas of eLearning, social media and livestreaming, interactive entertainment, and digital royalties. The data shows how the COVID-19 pandemic is shaping consumer behavior, perhaps permanently, and how these businesses are adapting and evolving to meet demand. Amid this increase in demand, Payoneer is adding new enterprise and small and medium-sized business (SMB) clients to its roster, supporting them in driving expansion via its secure global digital ecosystem.
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- Social Media Livestreaming Peaks as People Seek out Community Engagement
China is leading the market globally in terms of livestreaming (there are 456 million viewers in China, with 70% under the age of 30), but the rest of the world is likely to follow suit in the coming months. For now, within the U.S. and Europe, the most dominant form of livestreaming is gaming. While the market saw 236%* YoY growth globally, there was notable growth in Europe (395% YoY) and North America (313% YoY) during the first few months of the pandemic in those regions.Looking ahead, the industry is anticipated to reach $526 million in 2020. Further, a recent Payoneer survey of live streamers from around the world found that about half have been earning from live streaming platforms for less than a year, suggesting that the pandemic presented the option to earn more from the activity. 62% of these survey respondents reported that they expect their earnings to continue to grow even after the pandemic is under control. Payoneer has added platforms like Bigo and Beeshow to its growing list of clients in the social media livestreaming space.
- eLearning on the Rise for Enterprises and Individuals
It’s no surprise that when a large portion of the school year moved online for many students around the world, the eLearning industry saw 92% YoY growth globally, with notable growth in Europe (126% YoY) and North America (57% YoY). In the U.S., many eLearning businesses like Payoneer clients, Udacity and Udemy, also began partnering with leading technology companies to teach the critical tech skills companies are seeking in today’s increasingly digital economy. Popular courses across business and student users include AI, language, business and entrepreneurship, programming, academics, the arts, health and fitness, language, music, technology and games, and even soft skills. As technology industries thrive, more people will turn to online courses to hone their skills and upskill at work.A recent Payoneer survey of online teachers from all over the world also found the following:
- Over 70% of the respondents have been online teachers/instructors for less than two years.
- Nearly 60% said the number of registrations for their courses have greatly increased since the start of the pandemic.
- While online teaching is the primary source of income for 64% of respondents, 84% would consider making it their primary source of income.
- 60% also believe demand will continue to increase even after the pandemic is under control and are expecting increased competition as more teachers consider offering courses online.
- A majority of respondents expect demand for English language courses and IT and software courses to continue to increase following the pandemic.
In China, eLearning is largely app-based, and content is predominantly conversation-based, with students phoning ‘online’ teachers (known as Free Talk) to help correct their grammar and pronunciation, rather than learning something class-based.
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