More than 39 million UK residents use the Internet in 2009, eMarketer estimates. By 2013, nearly 44 million will be online—more than 70% of the total UK population.
Usage has risen in all age groups, but especially among young people. The UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) reported that two-thirds of children ages 5 to 7 were online in 2009—an increase of 16 percentage points since 2007. Among children ages 8 to 11, Web penetration rose from 65% in 2007 to 77% in 2009.
“Marketers can be confident that virtually all segments of the UK population—except some senior citizens and lower-income households—are using the Web more than ever to research products and services and to keep tabs on brand offerings,” said Karin von Abrams, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “UK Internet Users and Usage: Demographic Splits Persist.”
Most UK Web users are online more frequently, too. Ofcom noted that in 2009, 73% of adults who had been online in the previous three months were daily Internet users, compared with 69% in 2008.
Men continued to outnumber women online, according to The Nielsen Company. But women edged them out among Internet users under 50 years old.
Wireless Internet usage was also somewhat stronger among men than among women, based on data from the UK Office for National Statistics.
“With nearly two-thirds of all UK residents using the Web, virtually all customer groups are now represented there,” noted Ms. von Abrams. “But that has a downside for marketers too. Audiences are fragmenting—mirroring the offline world. Any number of small but valuable demographic groups, such as affluent rock-music fans in Liverpool, have their own special Internet hangouts. If your audience is not mass market, from now on you will probably need to work harder to keep up with them.”
The full report, “UK Internet Users and Usage: Demographic Splits Persist” also answers these key questions:
- How many people are online in the UK?
- What are the characteristics of the UK online audience?
- How does Internet use vary by age and gender?
- What are the most popular online activities among UK Web users?
- How is mobile Internet use developing?