3 surprising digital insights you might not have guessed!
We took a deep dive into the most recent version of Webcertain’s search and social report, covering and comparing digital activity in 49 countries. While doing so, we uncovered some interesting correlations which we wanted to share through this article.
1. It’s - not yet - a complete mobile world for web browsing
While we all spend our days on smartphones – working, playing, connecting, and learning – we actually do not primarily consume webpages on these devices.
For the 49 countries in the report, the average web browsing breakdown is 50% desktop, 47% mobile, and 3% tablet. Most Northern and Eastern European countries still see over 60% of web browsing happening on desktops.
Hold on a second! We read everywhere that the most-used device is mobile?! How is this possible? Well, there might be multiple reasons:
The stats cover web browsing, and not all internet activity (i.e., activity within applications such as Instagram, Netflix, and others)
People might still prefer larger screens to search for information
Too many websites still (!!) do not provide a compelling mobile experience (either not adapted or harassing users with advertisements)
Interestingly enough, the countries with the highest proportion of mobile web browsing are developing countries, which might be explained by the fact they could have immediately jumped into the mobile internet without going through the desktop stage.
2. Search doesn’t always mean purchase, even during the pandemic
Most developed countries observe a high correlation between researching for produces and goods online (intent) and effective purchase through eCommerce. For example, Germany sees 84% of internet users searching for items and 82% of them actually purchasing products online. The USA sees 85% search and 81% actually purchase, Poland sees 89% search and 83% purchase, and Japan sees 87% search and 74% actually buy. Egypt, however, has a 79% search rate but only a 59% purchase rate.
Interestingly, countries such as Greece, Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic showed a disproportionate difference in the online search vs. online purchases ratio, showing more men purchasing online than women, whereas it was quite balanced in most of the other countries. It would be interesting to cross-reference this with credit card ownership demographic data.
Where we would have been inclined to see a slowdown in the ROPO trend (Research Online, Purchase Offline) which has been trending for a while, it is interesting to note that the pandemic hasn’t changed habits more drastically. It most probably, however, is only a matter of time, with all projections and forecasts showing double-digit growth in eCommerce worldwide.
3. Privacy is important, but not yet internet users’ primary concern
Globally, only 39% of internet users have installed an ad blocking tool, with only India having more than half of its online population protecting themselves through this tech. Many hypotheses can be formulated on this insight:
- It could be linked to ad fatigue, with people not bothering to pay attention to ads anyway and thus ignoring them
- It might be tied to the perceived complexity of installing an ad blocker (or even knowledge that such software exists)
- Or it could be linked to the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) on offers you might get through advertisements
Related to the above, only 37% are concerned about how companies use their personal data, with Spain, Portugal and Brazil being the most concerned, with over half of respondents saying they are very concerned. With headlines around the world talking about internet privacy, we expected higher numbers in that category.
Internet users have however adopted the habit of deleting their cookies regularly, with 47% globally, and especially high rates in the Philippines, Poland, and Italy.
In the context of the introduction of the ATT framework by Apple, Google ending third-party cookies in Chrome, the soaring usage of consent management platforms (CMPs) and other GDPR concerns, we would have expected a higher adoption rate in ad blockers, concerned users, and active cookie-cleaners.
Retrieve the above numbers and many more in Webcertain’s great search and social 2021 report!
Webcertain is an international search, social, digital and translation agency, based in the UK.
