RESTON, Va. -

Consumer visits to your dealership website to shop used-vehicle inventory or to book a service appointment online probably came through the internet pipeline attached to your customer’s home.

The latest data from Comscore reinforced that possibility, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As millions of Americans sheltered in place, shifted to working from home as well as remote learning and perhaps conducted activities associated with their vehicles, ongoing research from Comscore found that overall in-home data usage levels throughout 2020 remained significantly higher than in 2019.

Overall, Comscore said on Friday that total in-home data consumption in 2020 increased 18% from the previous year.

Throughout the first several of months of COVID-related lockdowns, data consumption from Comscore Connected Home custom reporting showed increased usage across all connected devices. Analysts indicated smart TVs, laptops, gaming consoles, phones, smart speakers, streaming boxes and sticks and tablets all saw strong growth in data usage versus 2019.

By the summer, Comscore determined year-over-year growth rates across all devices seemed to level off to around 15% on average, but smart TVs and home computers continued to see growth rates upwards of 30% versus 2019.

Despite some schools reopening for in-person learning and some adults returning to their offices, at least part-time, Comscore indicated home computer data usage continued to accelerate through the end of the year.

As 2020 concluded, analysts noted year-over-year growth in data consumption during Q4 slowed slightly. In fact, Comscore saw that in-home data consumption increased at roughly the same rates seen in the weeks leading up to COVID-19 closures.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers had adapted to a modified way of life. As lockdowns had eased, data consumption growth appears to have begun to slow in comparison to the peak months in early 2020,” Comscore said in a news release. “Comscore will continue to monitor these changing consumption habits.”