We’d Rather Play Games Than Shop On The Net, Says Report

Shopping online may be becoming more popular (see UK Internet Users Giving Online Shopping More Credit), but it has some way to go to beat playing games or listening to music on the internet.

The latest figures from MMXI Europe show that European internet users have increased the amount of time they spend looking at entertainment sites from an average of 5 minutes per month in January to 28.8 minutes in April. This means users spend nearly three times as long on entertainment sites than on sports sites, and over twice as long as they do on retail or travel sites.

The number of individuals visiting entertainment sites in April was 4 million, representing 40% of the internet population. However, the reach of the UK’s most popular entertainment site, www.virgin.net was only 11.3% compared to the overall top UK site,

Competition and game sites prove popular, with www.freewin.co.uk gaining third place in the nation’s top ten entertainment websites, with www.iwin.com and www.jamba.co.uk making it to 7th and 10th place.

Music downloads appeared at numbers 6 and 8 in the form of www.MP3.com and www.peoplesound.com. The ubiquitous Pokemon even extends its hold over the youngest users of the net, making www.pokemon.com number 4.

“Leisure time might be becoming more precious, but people are still spending longer and longer on the internet.” said Mari Kim Coleman, UK managing director of MMXI Europe. “The fact is, the Internet allows you to have more flexibility and a wider choice than television and radio, such as playing interactive games and choosing your own music.”

MMXI Europe: 020 7869 8339