BYOD Captures 29% of K-12 Education Market

As school budgets continue to feel the squeeze across many world territories, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) schemes are gathering pace. That’s according to Futuresource Consulting’s third annual K-12 market sizing report, which shows BYOD now accounts for 29% of the total market, growing 6% year-on-year.

The study, conducted across the USA, UK, Australia, Germany, India and Japan, reveals an array of regional differences. In line with previous waves of research, India maintains its position at the head of the charge, with 45% BYOD penetration, while Japan brings up the rear at 11%.

A Market in Ascendance

“Despite the recent activity, there’s still plenty of growth left in the market, presenting a sizable opportunity for vendors,” says Elliott Ross, a director at Futuresource Consulting. “Our market sizing modelling reveals that over one-fifth of schools that don’t currently have a BYOD scheme in place plan to implement one within the next two years. However, there are still obstacles to overcome. For the market to fully realise its potential, schools need to be reassured on their concerns surrounding security, deployment and parent affordability.”

Channel and Decision-Making Complexities

While transactions are shifting onto parents, this latest round of research shows that schools continue to play a pivotal role in the decision-making process. Not only do they advise on the brand and OS choice, they also instruct or make recommendations on screen size, storage, memory, and even mobile network enablement.

As a result, vendors must work closely with schools to align products and offerings to their preferences and priorities, while being mindful of changing channel behaviours.  

“Most parents will choose to purchase through a retailer,” says Ross, “mainly to get better value for money and access to a wider range. Therefore, those vendors who build the strongest partnerships with retailers, ensuring more device options and better deals, are the ones that will prosper moving forward.

“Beyond the retailer route, more than a quarter of parents are now buying directly through the school or a parent purchasing portal. These channels appeal to some schools in order to maintain equality across devices, so there’s also an opportunity to build partnerships by leading with devices that meet schools’ equality standards.” 

A New Focus on Tablets and Strategic Pricing

The research also shows a slight uplift in tablet purchases in 2022, and a decrease for laptops, leading to a more even split across devices. This may be a sign of parents starting to feel the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis, and gravitating towards the lower price of a tablet purchase. In addition, only a third of parents are paying full price, and many rely on school or government contributions. Vendors that offer discounts or promotions could gain a competitive foothold and strongly influence the final purchase decision.

Futuresource Consulting’s K-12 sizing of the BYOD market opportunity surveyed 7,858 parents and 475 decision makers in schools across the USA, UK, Australia, Germany, India and Japan, between August and September 2022. For more information on this report or to make a purchase, please contact ben.thrussell@futuresource-hq.com

About the author

Elliott Ross

Elliott heads up Futuresource’s Consumer & End User Insights team. He has 14 years’ industry experience, having spent 10 years in consumer research before joining Futuresource at the start of 2020. Elliott is adept at designing and implementing bespoke research programmes that bring together an optimal mix of methodologies and data sources. He is experienced across a variety of industries, with a specialty in tech, media & entertainment