Coronavirus Stats About Home, Work and Digital Life: Zoom, eSignatures, & More

As the coronavirus continues to spread across the world, people are finding themselves with the prospect of weeks or months under lockdown. Nearly all human activity that was normally reserved for the public sphere is getting shifted to the private and online sphere. In the very recent past, the hot topic was how to maintain work/life balance, often with an emphasis on how to prevent worklife from excessively intruding on personal life. Today, however, many jobs have shifted to being entirely remote, blurring the distinction between the two. And whether people are working or relaxing, all roads lead to the Internet.

Coronavirus stats: Top coronavirus-driven habits

Here are some of the most important stats that are defining how work and home life are converging on the digital plane during this unprecedented pandemic:

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Cell Phone Usage Peaks

90% increase in telecom traffic

Many telecom companies around the world are reporting significant spikes in traffic, in some cases at least 90%. Many employees are working exclusively from home, using up more bandwidth. Meanwhile, many frontline employees have lost their jobs, leaving them with an abundance of free time and inability to venture outdoors. This means that people are relying almost entirely on the Internet to meet their work, social, and entertainment needs. The digital realm is now the default realm, and telecom companies will need to make sure they can support this influx of demand.

Cell Phone-Only Connections: 17% of US adults are smartphone-only internet users

Not all American households have laptop or desktop access; in fact, nearly one in four only receive internet access through their smartphones. These smartphone-only users are primarily lower-income and/or younger individuals. Companies who wish to conduct transactions with the widest range of customers should ensure their frontend systems are optimized for mobile. Otherwise, they risk losing these crucial demographic groups during a time of real need, whether it’s new business opportunities or servicing.

Video Conferencing is Booming

Zoom is the #1 app in app stores

The #1 app on major app stores is Zoom as Americans rely on video conferencing. Just a few weeks ago, Zoom was a useful augmentation to traditional meetings. It helped facilitate employee communication when occasionally working from home or working with international offices. Practically overnight, Zoom transformed into the go-to method for physically-distancing employees to stay connected with each other.

eSignatures and Mobile Forms

100% week on week growth of the eSignatures search term

A search on Google Trends reveals that the search term eSignature has doubled in the last month. Once upon a time, eSignature platforms were a way of maintaining a competitive edge and satisfying customers’ desire for digital services and enhanced efficiency. Now, eSignature solutions still fulfill that function, but they have been transformed into a literal necessity. Customers and the businesses who serve them are worried about the face-to-face interactions that come with the territory of physical paperwork. Companies that are committed to providing their customers services, whether it’s financial, legal, health, or anything else, will need to adjust their methods of transaction. And they are already turning to eSignatures to meet more of those transaction needs.

The bottom line: The coronavirus is digitizing our lives

We aren’t out of the woods yet when it comes to combating the coronavirus. As the fear of contagion drives more of the world’s population indoors, individuals and businesses are adapting to their new reality. Whether it’s in their personal or professional life, people are becoming reliant on remote digital services like never before. The virus is accelerating the pace of digital transformation, and the world will never be the same, even when face-to-face options are eventually restored.