Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

Global Media Intelligence 2019: South Africa

Key Features

In this mobile-first country, most digital media behaviors are linked to smartphones.

  • Fully 98.4% of internet users in South Africa ages 16 to 64 own a smartphone, according to H1 2019 polling by GlobalWebIndex.
  • More than three-fourths (76.1%) of respondents own a desktop/laptop, while fewer than half (46.0%) had a tablet. But both these figures reflect the characteristics of the sample population, which contained almost no rural residents (see note below). In reality, there are meaningful gaps remaining between the rates of PC and tablet ownership in South Africa’s urban and suburban households compared with rural environments.
  • Even among the most privileged internet users, mobile phones are now central to many media activities. For example, smartphones are key to social networking in the country. More than nine in 10 (92.9%) of those polled were social media users in H1 2019, and mobile phones made a major contribution to the time user spent with social networks—a daily average of 3 hours, 16 minutes (3:16).
  • Smartphones have encouraged the uptake of voice assistants, including voice search available through built-in features such as Cortana and Siri. Overall, 31.0% of internet users polled had used voice search in the prior month, or used voice commands to communicate with a smart speaker. Usage was higher among male respondents, those ages 16 to 24, those living in cities, and those at both ends of the income scale.
  • For many of South Africa’s internet users, a smartphone also offers the most convenient access to video and audio content. Some 81.6% of those surveyed in H1 2019 had streamed video content during the prior month—not far behind the 84.6% of respondents who had watched live TV during the same period. More than three-quarters (77.0% of the total) had streamed music or other audio content. Streamed video and music claimed 1:11 and 1:27 each day, on average; together, these exceeded the average 2:27 devoted daily to live TV.
  • Admittedly, PCs and tablets accounted for more total media time per day than smartphones. That gap has narrowed since H1 2018, however, per GlobalWebIndex. Time spent daily with PCs and tablets declined from close to 5 hours to 4:44, on average, while average smartphone time climbed from 3:30 to 4:10.

authors

Karin von Abrams

Contributors

Joanne DiCamillo
Kathleen Hamblin
Chart Editorial Manager
Dana Hill
Director of Production
Erika Huber
Copy Editor
Stephanie Meyer
Senior Production Artist
Heather Price
Deputy Editor
Hilary Rengert
VP, Research Strategy
Amanda Silvestri
Senior Copy Editor
Already have a subscription?Sign In

Access All Charts and Data

Gain access to reliable data presented in clear and intelligible displays for quick understanding and decision making on the most important topics related to your industry

Become a Client