The era of connectivity

Spark Media’s latest Roots cellphone and Internet penetration data has recently been released, providing marketers with interesting insights into the local consumer market. 

Cellphone and Internet penetration are new categories which have been included in the research for the first time in 2016. These new categories have sparked new topics of investigation such as Hot Spots or free Wi-Fi areas; and how behaviours vary between areas when it comes to how Purchasing Decision Makers (PDMs) access the Internet via free Wi-Fi depending on where they are based. Tracking information about Internet penetration allows for the tracking and trending of data. Roots reveals that it is the young working population living in urban areas that drives Internet penetration.

Devices have come a long way and as smartphones grow in popularity, the use of landlines has suffered – in fact only 16% of homes have a fixed telephone. In the past three years, smartphone penetration has increased from 33% to 80%.

Roots goes further to outline what consumers do with Internet penetration and connectivity; 83% use social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and 40% of this figure do that every day. Seventy percent use instant messaging or online chatting, 66% upload photos, videos or music, 65% send and receive e-mails and 55% read the news, sport or weather, while 21% do this every day. In addition, consumers download music or video files, watch videos online, search for product information online about brands they have seen on TV, purchase or research products online before buying them and use Internet banking or a banking app.

According to Gill Randall, CEO of Spark Media, major opportunities exist for brands to engage with their consumers in an increasingly connected world, particularly at local level. “Roots provides insights by category and area, down to suburban level. Because no area or target market is the same, area-by-area information on connectivity and Internet behaviour becomes valuable when marketers plan or evaluate their campaigns.”

The big take-out: Roots cellphone and Internet penetration data allows marketers to access data on connectivity and Internet behaviour area by area, in order to plan or evaluate campaigns.