Sensis e-Business Report: digital world of social media, mobile web, iPads and online purchasing is now being embraced by Australians of all ages
Once the domain of the youth, the digital world of social media, mobile web, iPads and online purchasing is now being embraced by Australians of all ages.
According to the annual Sensis e-Business Report released today, a range of digital activities have hit mainstream levels in Australia, with strong usage by people in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
The report suggests two-thirds of Australians now make purchases online, with forty per cent increasing their online expenditure over the last 12 months.
Australians in their 30s are most likely to purchase online (87 per cent), followed by those in their 20s (80 per cent), closely followed by those in their 40s (79 per cent).
Report author Christena Singh said with the high Australian dollar, some of this expenditure was going to overseas sites.
Says Singh: “The findings suggest 29 per cent of online purchases are made with overseas businesses, but the majority of expenditure is still being spent locally.”
Australians shopping online in their 40s reported the lowest level of overseas purchases (23 per cent of total online purchases), while 14-to 17-year-olds and those in their 20s reported the highest level of online purchases from overseas businesses (38 per cent each).
The report shows half of Australians are now using a mobile to access the internet, an increase of almost 10 percentage points over the year.
Singh continues: “We can see that mobile web use has grown in the older age groups, with almost half of Australians in their 40s connecting via mobile and a third of those in their 50s.”
While the strongest mobile web use comes from 18-to19-year-olds (85 per cent), there has been a strong growth amongst those in their 20s (from 60 to 77 per cent) and in their 30s (from 50 to 69 per cent).
Almost half of Australians in their 40s are now using mobile web (up from 40 to 45 per cent) and a third of those in their 50s logon on their phones (up from 24 per cent to 32 per cent).
With the evolution of mobile internet, Australians are also using more applications when they logon. A range of activities, including downloading video and mobile apps, have become commonplace.
The most popular activities Australians are undertaking using mobile internet include:
· looking for maps and directions (74 per cent up from 67 per cent last year),
· looking for weather information (69 per cent up from 64 per cent),
· browsing news sites (68 per cent up from 59 per cent),
· looking for products and services (67 up from 56 per cent),
· using a social network site (67 per cent up from 56 per cent),
· looking for suppliers (57 per cent up from 45 per cent),
· downloading a mobile application (57 per cent up from 42 per cent),
· using a satellite navigation application (47 per cent up from 40 per cent), and
· downloading video content (39 per cent up from 35 per cent).
Mobile web is now not only used when people are out and about, with Australians now logging on at home (38 per cent) or at work (49 per cent), where they are also likely to have access to a computer. By comparison, 35 per cent of mobile internet users connect while commuting to work and 24 per cent when they are out and about.
Six in 10 Australians also now use social networking. ‘Age continues to influence social networking usage. However, we have seen growth in the share of total use in the 30-plus age group.’
Social networking is now heavily used by people aged 30 to 39 (82 per cent), 40 to 49 (47 per cent) and 50 to 64 (45 per cent). This compares with 90 per cent of 14-to 17-years-olds that use social networking, 97 per cent of 18-to19-year-olds and 90 per cent of 20 somethings.
The largest increase in use of social networking sites during the year came from Australians in their 30s, up 15 percentage points.
Singh noted that the frequency with which social networking sites were used increased sharply during the year. Four in 10 Australians logon to social networking sites several times per day, up from less than 3 in 10 last year. Almost one in four Australians access social networking sites from their workplace. “With the uptake of notebooks, digital TVs, Pay TV, tables and navigation devices, the report shows just how connected our lives have become,” she added.
Technology in the Australian home:
2010 2011 Expect to get one
in next 12 months
Digital TV or set top box 80% 84% 12%
Pay TV 24% 30% 3%
Navigation device (in car) 28% 32% 5%
Navigation device 14% 20% 2%
(Personal/hand held)
Tablet Such as an iPad) NA 12% 15%
Most age groups have similar levels of tablet ownership, with the exception of those in their 30s, whose ownership is almost double the average (29 per cent).