Internet usage in European markets

This study highlights internet usage in 49 European markets aggregated into the European region and provides individual reporting on 18 markets. The study also analysed the online behaviour of mothers, defined as females age 25 and older with children in the household, showing their heavy propensity to visit retail sites.

Retail sites resonate with British mums

A demographic analysis of UK mothers (females age 25 and older with at least one child under 18 in the household) showed that they are 82% more likely to visit Retail Toys sites (index of 182) than the average internet user, making it the top indexing category amongst this consumer segment. Several retail categories, such as Flowers/Gifts/Greetings and Fragrances/Cosmetics, also made the top 10 with indices of 167 and 164, respectively.

*Composition Index = % of "Mum" Visitors to Category/% of Total Internet Users to Category x 100; Index of 100 indicates average representation.
** Females age 25+ with at least 1 child under the age of 18 living in the household.

Fastest growing properties in Europe

Google Sites was the top online destination in Europe in October 2011, attracting 346 million unique visitors, or 92% of the total European internet audience. A look at the fastest growing online properties over the past month shows that online video destination Vimeo had the fastest audience growth, increasing 49% to 18.4 million visitors. For the second consecutive month EA Online appeared in the top 5, growing by 30% from September to October, nearly double its 16% growth rate between August and September.

*Amongst the top 100 online properties

European Internet usage by country - European internet audience more engaged

Below is a snapshot of European internet usage in the 18 markets for which comScore provides individual reporting. The average user spent 27.8 hours online in Europe during the month, considerably longer than the global average of 24.6 hours per visitor. The number of internet users in Russia grew 1.6% since September as the market remained the largest in Europe for the second consecutive month.