BYOD on the Rise in Education: 1-in-4 Parents Bought a Device as a Result of being Instructed by the School

With school budgets under increasing pressure and hybrid learning becoming the educational norm, bring-your-own-device is a growing trend across a number of world markets. As decision making criteria shifts and distribution channels change, this could begin to impact how vendors approach the education market.

New international research from market research consulting firm Futuresource Consulting shows that nearly one-in-four parents have already bought a device for their child as a direct result of a school instruction. Of those, nearly eight in ten made a BYOD purchase in the last 12 months.

The research, carried out in the USA, UK, Australia, Germany, India and Japan, identifies India as having the biggest BYOD market.

“Based on this research, our market sizing modelling shows BYOD currently makes up nearly a quarter of the total addressable market,” says Elliott Ross, Senior Manager of Methodologies at Futuresource Consulting. “That’s a sizable opportunity for vendors, and one that needs to be given increasing headspace in future strategies. Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic positively impacted this market, but our data strongly suggests that the BYOD market will continue to grow.”

Schools Play a Key Role in BYOD Purchases

Despite device costs shifting from institutions to parents, schools still play an influential role in the nature of the devices purchased. Nearly half of those instructed to purchase a device were told to buy a particular model or specification of laptop or tablet. Windows was the most popular OS specified by schools for laptops and Android the most popular for tablets.

Futuresource’s research also reveals that while HP was the most commonly bought brand of laptop, Apple was in the top two most commonly bought brands of laptops and tablets overall, and is highly favoured by schools and parents alike.

Parents Spending More

In addition, average spend recommendation for devices was $434, yet parents spent $485. This 12% overspend illustrates another reason for vendors to tap into the BYOD phenomenon. Yet, to fully leverage the opportunity, they need to adopt a seamless channel strategy that joins the dots between retail and school-based channels.

“There’s no doubt that the pandemic has positively impacted the BYOD market,” says Ross. “It has led to a third of schools rolling it out to a wider set of grades, with six in ten now planning to do so in the future. What’s more, our research has shown that one fifth of schools that don’t currently have a BYOD scheme in place are planning to implement one within the next two years.”

Futuresource Consulting’s K-12 sizing of the BYOD market opportunity surveyed 7,845 parents and 475 schools across the USA, UK, Australia, Germany, India and Japan, between August and September 2021. For more information on this report or to make a purchase, please contact matthew.ledgerwood@futuresource-hq.com

About Futuresource

Futuresource Consulting is a market research and consulting company, providing its clients with expertise in Professional AV, Consumer Electronics, Education Technology, Content & Entertainment, Professional Broadcast and Automotive. Combining strong methodologies and unsurpassed data refinement with in-depth market knowledge and forecasting, Futuresource deliver the latest insights and technological developments to drive business decision-making.

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