iPhone Owners More Likely to Pony Up for Digital Content

Apple has trained iPhone owners to enjoy paying for digital content more than the general online population, a survey suggests.

Media law firm Olswang on Wednesday published its 2009 Convergence Survey, which analyzed e-shopping trends among iPhone owners and general online consumers. Apple enthusiast blog 9to5Mac summarizes the findings regarding the iPhone demographic:

73 percent would pay to access online a film just released in cinemas;

67 percent would pay for access to a film that will not be on DVD for at least two months;

54 percent would pay to access a film which is already on DVD or pay-TV;

41 percent of iPhone users would already be willing to take out subscriptions to access their favorite TV shows;

42 percent would pay for an online book.

Those numbers are quite high when stacked against the figures from the general online population surveyed:

58 percent of people would pay to access online a film just released in cinemas;

52 percent would pay for access to a film that will not be on DVD for at least two months;

40 percent would pay to access a film which is already on DVD or pay-TV;

30 percent would already be willing to take out subscriptions to access their favorite TV shows;

30 percent would pay for an online book.

Olswang found these numbers about the iPhone demographic to be “striking,” but they are what you’d expect. The App Store made purchasing apps incredibly easy, and many of the high quality apps are dirt cheap.

Above all, my view is that the App Store, which serves over 100,000 apps, has conditioned us to demand more and more from a single device. In turn we’re evolving into a demographic that craves more from the digital as opposed to the physical.

These numbers are quite striking indeed. And it suggests the rumored Apple touchscreen tablet, which several independent reports have said will focus on e-reader functionality, does have potential to resuscitate the dying publishing industry ? because there would most likely be a large amount of overlap between the iPhone and “iTablet” demographics.

Meanwhile, a recent report from The New York Times cites sources who say a consortium of magazine publishers are jointly planning to build an “online newsstand” ? a “new iTunes for magazines.” It would involve publications repurposing their print content into multiple digital formats to be sold through a new company, sources told NY Times. If that’s the case, today’s survey suggests they’ll find a friendlier reception among iPhone users than among the general population.

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