Mobile now represents over one-third of the world’s internet usage, and in Australia, we have 1.6 mobile connections per user. Recent findings from We Are Social, show how 2016 is shaping up for mobile usage in Australia and the APAC region. As smartphones become more deeply ingrained in our lives, consumers are bringing mobile to the front and center of their digital engagement.
We Are Social produces a comprehensive annual report on internet, mobile and social media usage trends globally, by region, and by country. It provides a spotlight on how Australia and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region shape up. According to the 2016 report, we have the 7th highest internet penetration in the world and 12.9 million active mobile internet users. Nearly a third of our web traffic is attributed to mobile and we have 30.6 million mobile connections – more mobile connections than people!
77% of Australians now have a smartphone and mobile subscription growth has slowed to around the same rate as internet subscriptions – around 2% year on year – suggesting we’ve reached an adoption plateau. More than half the Australian population has an active social media account on a mobile device and we spend over an hour a day on our mobile devices. Tablet devices are accessible to 41% of us and tablets and smartphones makeup 38% of all web page views in Australia. Although we still prefer our desktops for online shopping, those of us who’ve purchased on mobile already make up a third of those who’ve purchased online.
See below for a quick snapshot of some of the top findings for Australia and the region:
APAC Active Usage:
- APAC has 1,066 million active mobile social users
- APAC has 1,662 million active internet users
- APAC has 3,860 million mobile connections
- APAC’s active internet users grew 12% over the past year
- APAC’s active social media users grew by 14% over the past year
Australian Active Usage
- 87% of Australians use the internet daily
- Australia has the 7th highest internet penetration worldwide
- The number of active internet users is 21.2 million
- Active internet users increased by 2% in the last year
Australian Mobile Usage
- Active mobile internet users reached 12.9 million
- Mobile subscriptions increased by 2% in the last year
- 27% of Australia’s web traffic is attributed to mobile
- Australians use over 4500 million petabytes of mobile data monthly
- 25% watch video content on mobile
- 32% use online banking
- 34% use mobile map services
- 34% use mobile messengers
- Mobile social users increased by 8% in the last year
- Australia has 30.6 million mobile connections
- 67% of Aussies postpay for mobile connections, while 33% pay in advance.
- Australia has an average of 1.6 unique connections per mobile user (or 127% of population)
Australian Social Media Usage
- Facebook is the most popular social platform with 41% usage
- Facebook messenger is the second most popular social platform with 26%
- Australia is ranked 10th worldwide in social media usage
- Australia has 14 million active social media users
- 54% of Australia’s population has active social accounts on mobile devices
- Australia has 13 million mobile social users
- Australians use social media for 1 hour 9 minutes per day
Australian Device Usage and Preferences
- Australians view 2 hours 36 minutes of TV daily
- Australians spend 1.1 hours on mobile devices daily
- Australians spend 3.6 hours on desktop computers daily
- 77% of Aussies own a smartphone
- 80% own a laptop or desktop computer
- Tablet penetration is 41%
- Tablets account for 11% of web page views
- Desktops & laptops account for 62% of web page views
- Mobile phones account for 27% of web page views
- Other devices such as gaming consoles hold 0.1% of web page views
Australian Online Shopping
- 19% of Australians had purchased something on a mobile device in the last month
- 57% purchased something on a desktop in the last month