The profile of the South African Web user is more like 'the man in the street' and not so much a 'techno whizzkid' profile, like it used to be in 1999 and 2000, according to Webchek, a division of Research Surveys, which also released its major findings into who the South African Internet user is, throwing up fascinating demographics.
Webcheck has been tracking trends in the Internet arena for the past seven years. Project SA Web User is one of such studies and has been running since 1999. This particular project is a multi-client survey, meaning that it is open for any interested parties to buy into the survey.
The interviews were conducted by means of the computer-aided telephonic interviewing process. A random sample of people was contacted from the telephone directory. The result of this randomness was a hit rate of 0.46 successful interviews per hour. Potential respondents had to be at least 18 years of age and had to access the World Wide Web (that is, not email only) at least once a month, either at home and/or at work in order to be included in the sample. No quota controls were exercised on gender and on race. The survey was conducted in the major metropolitan areas of Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban - 56%, 33% and 11% respectively.
Summary of key findings
The demographic profile of South African Web users, 18 years and older, residing in the major metropolitan areas of South Africa, are:
AGE: Almost half of South African Web users are between the ages of 25 and 44 years (27% are between 35 and 44 years). Having said this, it is also true that there has been an increase in users over the age of 55 from 10% in 2002 and 11% in 2003 to 16% in 2004.
LANGUAGE: 72% of South African Web users are English-speaking, which is up from previous years (63% in 2002 and 64% in 2003).
GENDER: There is an equal split of SA Web users, 51% female and 49% male. This gender split seems to have steadied at approximately 50/50. The figure for 1999 was approximately 60/40 male/female.
MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD INCOME: The average monthly household income earned is just under R15 000.
STAGE IN LIFE CYCLE: The number of people with children in the home has increased from 41% in 2001 to 53% in 2004. Of those people with children, half have two children.
LEVEL OF EDUCATION: In line with previous findings, two-fifths of South African Web users, 18 years and older, residing in the major metropolitan areas of South Africa, have either completed university or have some other form of post-matric qualification.
WORK CATEGORY: The ratio of people working in the computer industry or IT professionals has decreased from 28% in 2000 to 7% in 2004.
OWN BUSINESS: 25% of Web users have their own business. Of these people, 34% are one-man shows. Approximately two-thirds of businesses are run from home.
TECHNOGRAPHIC PROFILE: The 'cutting edge' segment has increased following previous declines in this advanced segment. What this means is that more people see themselves as technologically advanced.In summary then, the key profile changes from previous years include the following:
Higher number of older (55 years and older) Web users.
More English-speaking people than in previous years.
More people with children in the home.
The ratio of people working in the computer industry and IT professionals compared to other work categories has become smaller.
More people who see themselves at the cutting edge of technology in terms of the technographic profile after a decline in this advanced segment in previous years.The bottom line is that the profile of the South African Web user has become more like 'the man in the street' and is not so much a 'techno whizzkid' profile, like it used to be in 1999 and 2000.
Usage and behavioural patterns of the World Wide Web
49% of the sample have Web access at home only and 22% at work only, with 29% who have access at both home and work.
The number of days the Web is accessed per month is slightly up from 2002 and 2003 amongst home users.
The Web was accessed 16.3 days a month on average at home in November 2004 and 14.5 days on average in 2003. Thirty-two percent of home users access the Web every day at home.
At work, the Web is accessed 17.4 days a month on average.
Home users spend an average of 6.0 hours online per week and work users 7.0 hours per week. People generally do not spend much more time online than in previous years. The change in the sample profile should be borne in mind.
On average, home as well as work users got connected just over three and a half years ago.
South African Web users use the Internet most for sending and receiving email as well as for searching for specific information. The top eight activities conducted online have remained fairly consistent over the past six years.
Home users spend an average of R209 per month on Telkom costs at home, that is, Telkom charges only and not ISP fees. It should, however, also be borne in mind that approximately one-quarter of the sample did not know how much they spend on Telkom charges at home per month.The mobile market
98% of South African Web users have a cellphone (93% in 2003). Of those people who have a cellphone:
78% have Nokia phones.
61% use Vodacom, 38% MTN and 10% Cell C as their service provider.
35% use prepaid (a decline from 44% in 2003), 60% a contract and 2% use both.
79% are responsible for paying their own bill.
79% use their cellphone for sending SMS messages.In terms of devices that people have, the number of people with DStv has increased from 28% in 2000 to 51% in 2004 (93% of South African Web users have a television); 27% have a laptop and 8% have a Palm Pilot.
Online shopping
Overall, 41% of people who access the WWW at least once a month have bought online before, which has increased from 26% in 2000. Of the people who have bought, 23% have done so only once, 16% twice, 31% three to five times and a further 30% have bought more often than five times. The percentage of people who have ever bought online increases the longer they have been connected to the Internet - 48% of people who have been connected for three years or longer and only 29% of those who got connected in the past year have bought via the Internet:
More males than females have bought online before (50% compared to 32%).
More people in the higher income bracket have bought online before (household incomes of R15 000 or more per month).
90% of those people who have shopped online before would do so again.
A credit card is still the most preferred way of paying for online purchases.
The incidence of purchasing airline tickets online has increased substantially.
Of all people that have ever shopped online, 30% have shopped online in 2004 and 21% have shopped online in the past month (which translates back to October 2004).
The average amount spent online (on purchases 'ever' made via the Internet) is approximately R2 574.Banking via the Internet
The overall concept of Internet banking is seen to be a good idea - 78% of people indicated that it is either a good idea or a very good idea (the figure for online bankers is 96%). On average, South African Web users gave online banking a rating of 7.9 out of 10. The people who conduct their banking online gave it a very high score of 9.1 out of 10 as opposed to non-online bankers who gave it a much lower score of 6.7 out of 10.
Usage:
South African Web users use an average of 2.5 different channels to conduct their banking (Internet bankers use an average of 2.8 different channels).
The average percentage of people banking online has increased over the last few years.
The main types of banking transactions done online are as follows (that is, from a predetermined list of banking transactions): Transferral of funds/inter-account transfers; Balance enquiries; Statements; Information on accounts; Third party payments.
Convenience is still considered to be the main advantage of Internet banking.
Approximately one-third of those people who do not currently conduct any banking transactions online claimed that 'they are scared that people might hack into the system' or that they do not think Internet banking to be very safe.
