|
The proportion on those having tried the internet is higher; at the same time two-fifth of the population has no personal experience whatsoever about the internet, neither about online contents and services.
In recent years, apart from some minor halts, a dynamic growth has taken place in the number of internet users. Internationally, the current 49 per cent penetration level is still considerably low and not only in comparison with the outstandingly high penetration levels in the US and Scandinavian countries but compared to the EU average, which is about 61 per cent, and several neighboring counties as well.
Though differences concerning internet usage between specific social groups gradually decrease as penetration grows, the proportion of man regularly using the net is still higher than that of women: 50 and 41 per cent respectively.
The difference between age groups is even more significant. The internet is still considered a ‘youngish’ medium which is supported by the fact that while 80 per cent of people between 15 and 24 years of age uses the internet regularly, in the 25-34 age group the proportion is merely 63 per cent. In the over-50 age group the ratio is significantly lower than the average – the penetration is only 20 per cent.
In Budapest the proportion of internet users still exceeds significantly the national level: in the capital the penetration level measured is 68 per cent whereas in smaller towns and villages the penetration is below average. Compared to the first half of 2008 the villages have shown a significant, 10 per cent growth.
80 per cent of internet users in the 15-69 age group uses the internet at home, which implies that 40 per cent of the whole population uses the internet at home. A slightly larger proportion, 43 per cent, has home access to the web, however, a slight minority does not take advantage of this fact. Having access to the internet does not necessarily mean usage, which is supported by the fact that 3 per cent of those having home access do not use the internet at all.
Not only the proportion of internet users has grown in the past six months but the number of people using the internet at home has also increased – in the first half of 2008 a mere 32 per cent, in the second half of 2008 40 per cent of the population used the web at home. Parallel to the increase in home internet access, the proportion of home computer ownership has also grown: from 48 to 50 per cent.
In the second half of 2008 90 per cent of those having internet at home use some kind of broadband access. The second half of 2007 was the first time when the proportion of internet users having access via cable television exceeded the proportion of ADSL internet usage. By the second half of 2008 the proportion of ADSL internet usage keeps dropping. Proportion of ADSL internet usage is 32 per cent, internet users having access via cable television is 46 per cent among those using the internet at home. Though the increase in the area is not fascinating, it is still worth highlighting that compared to the first half of the year an increasing number of households choose mobile phone internet access: over 3 per cent of the population having home access chooses mobile phone access primarily (the proportion of those using mobile internet as a supplementary technology is of course significantly higher).
1 per cent of those currently not using the internet is certain that they will start to use it in a few months’ time and another 5 per cent is likely to do the same. Based on this information and previous trends a 2 to 3 per cent increase is to be expected concerning the proportion of internet users in the near future.
11 per cent of those not having home connection is planning to purchase some kind of internet access. 22 per cent of those not using the internet is considering the installation of home internet, whereas 34 per cent of those who use the internet but do not have home access is planning to do likewise. The vast majority of those having decided on the type of access opt for some kind of broadband technology.
Internet Usage
Besides traditional internet activities (emailing, browsing, getting informed, and reading online magazines) an increasing number of internet users uses other useful or leisure functions of the web as well. 62 per cent of regular users in the 14-69 age group has used the internet when looking for a job and nearly the same number of them have bought a product or service at least one time via internet. All third internet users use to make their financial arrangements online.
Chatting is increasingly replaced by online telephoning, 45 per cent of internet users communicates by online voice transmission. The popularity of blogs is dynamically growing as well: 46 per cent reads this type of contents regularly and 9 per cent has their own blogs.
Two-third of internet user logs on video sharing sites, occasionally at least and 20 per cent has already uploaded some kind of video onto the web at least once. The proportion of those listening to radio or watching television online is constantly increasing as well: 55 per cent listens to online radio and 31 per cent has tried watching television via the internet.
It is not a current phenomenon that over nine tenths of internet users use the internet for gathering information before shopping – prior to making a decision on a more significant purchase they get informed using websites of manufacturers/distributors, homepages providing comparisons of products or buyers’ forums where consumers of different products/services can share their positive or negative experiences.
The proportion of those having tried online shopping is 62 per cent. 38 per cent orders products or services via the internet on a regular basis i.e. over 1,38 million people use the internet actively for their shopping decisions. By the second half of 2008 the rate of those having tried online payment by giving their credit card number via the internet is 17 per cent.
Sources of data:
Data of the concise report are from the TNS-NRC Interbus and TNS Visitor Media Research surveys for the second half of 2008. The Interbus research, which is representative of the domestic population in the 15-69 age group, provides information about variations in domestic internet penetration, characteristics of internet users and non-users and motivations behind internet usage (or non-usage). The VMR survey, which is representative of the 14-69 age group, presents internet consumption habits, media use and advertisement-related attitudes of internet users and visitors of different websites.
Further data and analysis deriving from these two surveys are available for order from NRC. Do not hesitate to make inquiries at the kapcsolat@nrc.hu email address or visit our website (http://www.nrc.hu/kapcsolat).
NRC, 2009 market research
<< Back
|
