Beyond online usage stats

“Gone are the days that we can delude ourselves that South Africans are not active online. We now have 3.8 million people interacting in this arena. By just looking at the member list of the OPA and their traffic, it is evident that SA's online users trust the Internet to give them the latest news, business information, health and lifestyle information and a new way of sourcing employment opportunities. Simultaneously we see more companies realising the power of the online medium by the organic growth of the OPA member base,” continues Buckland.

So who exactly is online in SA?

• The latest Nielsen/Netratings show that currently 54% of all online users are male and 49% female.
  
• The average age of our online users are between 25 – 29
  
• 64% access the internet from their place of work
  
• Only 31% of all online users have internet access at home.
  
• Only 25% of all online users have had some form of higher education since leaving school
  
• 51% are English speaking, 28% are Afrikaans speaking and the balance speaks one of the many African dialects – Zulu being 6% and Xhosa 4%.
  
• 61% of online users have cellular phones with Internet access
  
• 61% are employed full time and work more than 30 hours a week
  
• 20% hold clerical or administrative positions, while only 18% hold managerial positions
  
• 47% of all online users are married
  
• 15% of online users are either from the financial, insurance or real estate industry
  
• 25% live in households that have four members in them
  
• 53% own their own homes and have bonds
  
• 17% have an annual household income of R400 000 or more, 15% preferred to not say what their income was and 10% earned less than R50 000 a year.
  
• 32% have satellite dishes
  
• 31% live in Johannesburg, 18% in Cape Town, 14% in Pretoria and 8% in Durban and only 1% lives outside of South Africa.

“Surely this insightful information on who is online would lead marketers to look beyond just having an online presence, and incorporate this research into their marketing plans and start talking directly to their consumers in a strategically planned and executed online manner?” asks Buckland.

TOP PUBLISHERS – LOCAL TRAFFIC ONLY – period April/May/June 2007

TOP PUBLISHERS – LOCAL & INTERNATIONAL – period April/May/June 2007

The OPA is a grouping of South Africa's most prominent online publishers, including Bizcommunity.com. Its aim is to promote the growth and profitability of the online publishing industry, by setting the highest standards and meeting the needs of marketing and advertising professionals. For more information, go to www.opa.org.za.