“Online user engagement is deepening”
Online engagement by internet users is deepening, according to a new global and US report on the online landscape by The Nielsen Company.
Charles Buchwalter, SVP, research and analytics, Nielsen Online, said: “The internet remains a place of continuing innovation, with users finding new ways to integrate online usage into their daily lives.
“In recent years the internet has changed dramatically as people seek more personalized relationships online. In particular, time spent on social networks and video sites has increased astronomically. Advertisers are starting to positively re-assess the value of the online experience and create more meaningful relationships with consumers.”
Highlights of the report regarding the two fastest growing subcategories — online video and social networks – include:
- The number of American users frequenting online video destinations has climbed 339% since 2003.
- Time spent on video sites has shot up almost 2,000% over the same period.
- In the last year alone, unique viewers of online video grew 10%, the number of streams grew 41%, the streams per user grew 27% and the total minutes engaged with online video grew 71%.
- There are 87% more online social media users now than in 2003, with 883% more time devoted to those sites.
- In the last year alone, time spent on social networking sites has surged 73%.
- In February, social network usage exceeded web-based e-mail usage for the first time.
Online display advertising has plateaued at 20% of total online ad spend in the US, said Nielsen. In particular spending on online display advertising by financial services, automobile and retail companies has declined steeply.
However, a report from the European Interactive Advertising Association found that despite the credit crunch, the internet is continuing to prove the medium of choice for more European advertisers (see Online continuing to be the medium of choice for European advertisers).
It found that 70% of advertisers claim that their allocated online ad spend is increasing in 2009.
Elsewhere, the latest study from the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that UK online adspend grew 17.1% in 2008, to £3.4 billion (see UK online adspend grew 17.1% in 2008).