15 trends for 2015

115 for 15
15
15
FORThe Numbers That Mattered in 2014. The Trends to Watch in 2015

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04 13
06
2014 in Numbers:
Digital Timeline
Re-Engineering
Audience
Research
How 2014’s Big
Stories Will
Drive 2015’s Big
Trends
CONTENTS

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25
19
33
E34 • Generation V
E40 • Tablet Fatigue?
E46 • The New Tech Elite
E52 • Facebook Gets Passive
E58 • TV.com
E64 • China Rising
E70 • The Slow Death of Search
E76 • Wearable Tech Gets Mainstream
E84 • Android Excels
E90 • RIP SMS?
E96 • The Shared Internet
102 • The Battle for Content
108 • Multi-Networking
114 • Game On In Asia
118 • Track Me If You Can
2014 in Numbers:
Social Networks
and Messaging
Apps
2014 in Numbers:
WORLD CUP
15 for 15:
the Trends to
Watch in the
Year Ahead

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Tom Smith , CEO
GlobalWebIndex
Re-engineering
audience
research

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Ifounded GlobalWebIndex with the goal of it becoming ‘The Global
Standard for Digital Audience Insight’. As an experienced agency professional,
I knew the limitations of existing data and had seen first-hand the problems
of legacy providers – as well as analytics and industry tracking – simply not
being fit for purpose in the digital age. Worse, they were (and still are) selling
the digital marketing potential of the internet and its users massively short.
As our white paper The Missing Billion sets out, this remains a huge problem
today: there are a billion people – mainly in emerging markets – who are
currently being wiped off the digital map.
To achieve our goal, I knew we would have to re-engineer how audience
research works. It meant providing data on all aspects of a consumer’s digital
life in one data set, delivering global reach at massive scale. It required us to
publish data that was a week (rather than months or years) old, which was
collected a minimum of four times a year and which covered all connected
devices. And, crucially, I knew it meant going beyond simple passive
behavioral metrics to explore needs, wants and – in an age of all-pervasive
social media – active contributions.
I also knew it meant collecting data from people, not browsers. We had to go
beyond simple demographics to cover any nuance of an audience – including
attitudes, passions, motivations, work culture, home life and product
purchasing. It has always amazed me that digital marketing was supposed
to be a revolution in targeting, yet in the majority of cases we are reduced to
reporting on age and gender.
In 2015, we will continue to push these limits. We’ll not only link GWI core
data to campaigns, site visits and programmatic inventory via our GWIQ
product, we’ll be enriching it with social data from Twitter and Facebook, as
well as third-party digital data sources. We see this blend of actively collected
market research and passive ‘big’ data as the future to audience insight and
we continue to pursue this vision rigorously – providing one data set that
connects strategy, implementation and reporting. We’ll also be expanding
our research program to cover new markets as well as incorporating mobile-
only internet users.
The other side of our goal is to make our data as accessible as possible,
enabling a wide range of user types to benefit. Without doubt, 2014 has
been the most important year in this journey, with the team rolling out some
incredible products – including an all-new PRO Platform (which, bar none,
is the best analysis tool I’ve ever used). We also launched an API, enabling
clients to plug our audience data into their tools and dashboards, as well as a
whole new trends function that provides incredible reports, infographics and
commentary on the ever-changing digital market. You’ll find the best of this
new offering inside this publication, where we showcase the trends that all
digital marketers need to keep on their radar in the year ahead.
We work very hard here to deliver constant innovation and one of the
reasons we’ve remained independent is that we have been free to execute
and deliver to our clients on a timescale impossible in large organizations.
This is a rate of change we consider fundamental in the ever-evolving world
of digital behavior and marketing.
We look forward to working with you to innovate in 2015 and beyond.
To do all of these things, we’ve had to push the limits of market
research. The result of our work is that we’ve had incredible
traction, with revenue growth exceeding 200% in 2014 alone.
Today, tens of thousands of digital marketing professionals are
using GWI to deliver exceptional digital marketing on a global
scale. And it’s a number that grows every single day.

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Unlike some, we’ve not set out to “create” 15 brand-new trends that you’ve never heard of before.
Rather, we’ve selected 15 key areas which will be generating the biggest digital headlines, and exerting
some of the strongest influences on marketing spend, in the year ahead. Some of these trends will
be driven by the arrival of new products, by advances in tech capabilities or by increases in audience
sizes. Others are the result of existing trends crossing into the mainstream, gaining a new sense of
momentum or reaching crucial tipping points. But pretty much all of them have implications which
stretch far beyond the end of 2015 (stop and think about it and the notion that trends have a life-span
of just twelve months is utterly non-sensical; our 15 for 15 already exist now and will continue to exist
in 2016 – it’s simply the right time and context for them to enjoy a particularly important year in 2015).
How 2014’s big stories
will drive 2015’s
big trends
There’s one question I’m asked more frequently
than any other: How do you spot a trend?
The answer is fairly simple. Despite the ever-
changing nature of the digital landscape, there
are two fairly dependable constants to rely on
here. Firstly, trends don’t simply materialize out
of thin air; they have a far longer trajectory than
that. Secondly, only rarely are they the result of
never-seen-before behaviors or impossible-
to-predict circumstances; whether they grow
quickly or slowly – and whether they impact a
single country/region or become truly global –
most digital trends are driven by a combination
of ever-more sophisticated tech capabilities and
ever-evolving consumer needs and wants.
It’s in this context that we’ve approached our
15 trends for 2015. By analyzing data from 32
different countries across multiple waves of
research (the most recent of which was collected
just a week ago), we’ve chosen our stories based
on a detailed, multi-market understanding of
current trends and behaviors in 2014.

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With that in mind, let’s start by exploring the year
gone-by. What do the events and numbers of the
last twelve months tell us about the year ahead?
Above all, 2014 was a year in which acquisitions
and new landmarks were only rarely out of the
spotlight. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all
came back in February when – having been
unsuccessful in its attempts to woo Snapchat
– Facebook announced its multi-billion dollar
purchase of WhatsApp. But it certainly wasn’t
alone in wanting a piece of the messaging action;
by the time Mark Zuckerberg and co were handing
over $19 billion, Rakuten had already added Viber
to its portfolio and – subsequently – we’ve seen
Instagram launch Bolt, Facebook force its users
to migrate to Messenger and WeChat develop
new brand partnerships. As we write, Yahoo is
rumored to be investing in Snapchat while, next
year, Google is expected to become the latest
name to enter the fray with the launch of its very
own Messenger service.
Jason Mander, Head of Trends
GlobalWebIndex

8 15 for 15
That competition has quickly become so fierce within the mobile messaging
space is testament to just how rapidly social networking behaviors have been
evolving. But this brings clear implications for the way we’ll be communicating
elsewhere in 2015, a theme we explore in our RIP SMS and Facebook Gets Passive
trends.
As 2014 drew to a close, big-name (and big-money) acquisitions hit the headlines
once again: Amazon bought Twitch while Microsoft purchased Minecraft-
developers Mojang. Indicative not only of gaming’s current value and ubiquity,
it also reflects a gradual shift towards streaming (with ownership models being
challenged by those based on access; see The Battle for Content). So too does
it illustrate the rising importance attached to platforms. Content might now be
King but platforms have quickly become the King-makers – with tech giants
willing to spend considerable money to gain access to the young and affluent
audiences who use them. It’s also worth noting that global gaming revenues are
set to swell still further in 2015; this year’s repeal of the games console ban in
China opens up a huge new audience (for more on this, see Game On in Asia).
Alongside acquisitions, 2014 brought its fair share of product announcements
– including Facebook’s Atlas ad platform, which breaks new territory in the
mobile space (see Track Me If You Can) as well as Twitter’s plans to implement
a “buy” button. Without doubt, though, it was Apple which captured the most
attention here; from its much-awaited larger-screen iPhone 6 models to its
Apple Watch, we can expect these devices to make waves over the next twelve
months. Whether it will help the company to re-gain ground on Android or push
wearables into truly mainstream status will be key areas to watch (see Android
Excels and Always-On Consumers for more on these topics).

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Elsewhere, 2014 heralded a number of important landmarks. It was, for example, the first
year where three quarters of internet users went online via mobiles and over a third via
tablets; we discuss the future prospects for both devices in our Tablet Fatigue trend. We
also had Netflix passing the 50 million paid-subscriber mark (see TV.com) and WhatsApp
eventually overtaking Facebook Messenger to become the most popular chat app globally.
And, towards the year’s end, Alibaba achieved the largest ever IPO – a testament to the
rising fortunes of Chinese tech firms more generally (see China Rising).
For GlobalWebIndex, though, the last twelve months saw a milestone of particular
significance: the collection of 5 years’ worth of data on the digital consumer. Across our 16
waves of research so far – spanning mid-2009 to the end of 2014 – some of the biggest
shifts show just how much behaviors have changed in the 10s (and will continue to do so
as we approach the middle-point of the decade). Nowhere is this clearer than in relation
to dating and social networking sites; among the 30+ different types of site tracked by
GWI – covering everything from search engines and price comparison services to brand/
retail platforms and online encyclopedias – it’s these two categories which, over the last
five years, have seen the biggest proportional increases of all in terms of visitor numbers.
Between Q2 2009 and Q2 2014, there was in fact a +196% rise in the numbers visiting
online dating sites each month (one of the reasons, no doubt, why IAC/InterActive Corp – the
owner of Match.com and OK Cupid – increased its stake in dating app Tinder back in March
and then acquired HowAboutWe in July). And it must be pretty telling that social networks
saw the next highest increase (up by +178% over the same period); as we’ve become more
and more comfortable communicating with each other online, virtual relationships really
have soared. It’s why the Multi-Networking trend will flourish still further next year; we’re
using a combination of sites and conversation channels, rather than limiting ourselves to
just one or two of them.

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GWI’s figures also show just how rapid the ascent of mobile has been; while the rising
fortunes of this device are of course well-known, the numbers can still make for some
pretty striking reading. Across the 32 markets surveyed by GlobalWebIndex, the size of the
mobile internet audience has more than doubled in the last three years (passing a billion
people back at the start of 2014). That this is fundamentally changing the way people use
the internet can be in little doubt (a theme we explore further in The Slow Death of Search).
Mobiles have also become by far the most popular device for second-screening, used by a
majority of online adults. As recently as 2013, laptops and mobile phones were tied for pole
position; now, phones have opened up an 11-point lead.
Globally, it’s in fast-growth nations – where internet populations are increasing at the
biggest year-on-year rates – that mobiles have made a particularly important contribution,
bringing millions of individuals online for the first time. If we compare growth in online
population sizes over the last five years in markets like Sweden (+5%) and Germany (+8%)
with the equivalent figures in places such as the Philippines (+556%) or Indonesia (+449%),
the scale of the opportunity afforded by mobile is abundantly clear. This is one of the many
reasons why digital investments in 2015 cannot be based on headline internet penetration
rates alone – particularly as online populations in fast-growth markets tend to be highly
engaged and active on the internet. Rather than playing catch-up with more established
markets, consumers in these nations are forging their own trends – something we address
in The New Tech Elite.
Critically, two of the behaviors which cause the biggest complications for accurate audience
measurement are most pronounced in these fast-growth nations. Firstly, there’s the
significant minorities who are turning to VPNs and Proxy Servers to access the internet;
whether to overcome geo-restrictions or to stay anonymous, much of this audience can
either become invisible or be incorrectly geo-allocated to markets like the US (see Generation
V). Secondly, and just as significantly, large numbers of internet users are sharing the devices
they use to access the internet. While this is somewhat inevitable in relation to PCs, it’s also
pronounced for tablets and mobiles (despite the latter normally being considered a highly
“personal” device). Thus, the notion that one device = one user simply does not reflect the
multi-device approach that people are adopting to getting online (see The Shared Internet).
From market to market, arguably the most striking trend to emerge from GWI’s long-term
data is the growing dominance of the internet within our daily lives – a subject which is
much discussed but only rarely quantified. GWI’s stats here are pretty compelling. In 26
of our 32 countries, people are now consuming more of their media online each day than
they are via “traditional” channels; on average, the daily total has now hit 6.09 hours, up
from 5.55 hours in 2012. Once again, though, the biggest story here is the rise of mobiles.
In terms of hours, daily engagement with the mobile internet has risen quickly from 1.24 in
2012 to 1.81 in 2014. Mobiles are also capturing a bigger share of our total online time – up
from 22% to 30% over the same period.
From a global perspective, then, it’s not just that more and more people are getting online
each year. It’s that they’re using a wider range of devices to do so, are spending a greater
amount of their time on the internet and are carrying out a growing number of activities.
And with this shift from offline to online showing no signs of abating, truly understanding
your online audiences in 2015 will become even more vital than it already is now.

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Tracking the year’s most important digital
stories and events
Digital
Timeline
01

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JAN FEB MARCH
Snapchat defends turning down Facebook’s offer
Top Markets for Snapchat: Total Teens
UK 14% •
46%
USA 14% •
42%
Ireland 14% •
42%
Canada 12% •
47%
Australia 11% •
40%
Facebook 10th anniversary
In 2014, 82% of internet users outside of China have
a Facebook account, 75% say they visit the site each
month and 47% describe themselves as active users
Turkey attempts to block Twitter
36% of Turkish internet users are now connecting to
the internet via VPNs – up from 29% in Q4 2013. 62%
of this group say they do this to access restricted
sites like Twitter.
Oscar selfie retweeted 2 million times
during ceremony
10% of internet users say they have retweeted a
branded microblog post in the last month
Internet turns 25
Fastest Rising Internet Populations in Last 5 Years:
Philippines •
556%
Indonesia •
449%
South Africa •
426%
India •
240%
Russia •
102%
Argentina •
90%
Vietnam •
85%
Saudi Arabia •
83%
UAE •
77%
Mexico •
74%
In comparison, the Swedish internet population has
grown by just 5% during the same period
Rakuten buys Viber
8% use Viber each month – rising to a third or more in
Philippines, Ireland, UAE and Vietnam
Facebook buys WhatsApp
Usage of WhatsApp (among mobile audience):
Q1 2013 •
16%
Q2 2013 •
17%
Q3 2013 •
19%
Q4 2013 •
23%
Q1 2014 •
24%
Q2 2014 •
25%
Outside of China, its usage has hit 39%
Flickr celebrates 10th anniversary
% visiting Flickr each month, by age:
16 to 24 •
13%
25 to 34 •
17%
35 to 44 •
14%
45 to 54 •
8%
55 to 64 •
5%
Apple Mac turns 30
Top 10 Markets for Apple Mac:
12% •
Australia
12% •
USA
11% •
Canada
10% •
Singapore
10% •
Sweden
20th anniversary of Yahoo being founded
% monthly visitors to Yahoo by region:
65% •
Latin America
62% •
Asia Pacific
61% •
North America
58% •
Middle East and Africa
32% •
Europe
Data Privacy Day
56% of global internet users are “concerned about
the internet eroding my personal privacy” – up from
48% in 2010
8% •
Ireland
8% •
UK
7% •
Hong Kong
6% •
UAE
6% •
Netherlands

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APRIL MAY JUN
A third of internet users going online via tablets
Q1 2011 •
8%
Q2 2011 •
9%
Q4 2011 •
12%
Q2 2012 •
17%
Q4 2012 •
21%
Q1 2013 •
22%
Q2 2013 •
31%
Q3 2013 •
29%
Q4 2013 •
30%
Q1 2014 •
30%
Q2 2014 •
33%
Q3 2014 •
37%
Amazon unveils Fire Phone
Currently, the mobile handset market is dominated
by Samsung (36%)
Apple unveils iOS 8
% online adults using following mobile operating
systems:
Android •
55%
iOS •
16%
Windows Phone •
5%
Vodafone reveals governments in six countries
have direct links to communications on its network
65% of smartphone owners are concerned about
how their data is being used by companies
Google Glass available to buy in UK
UK USA
% have used wearable tech already 9% 13%
% interested in doing so in the future 30% 33%
Microsoft and Nokia merge
In 2014, 20% of mobile users said they had a Nokia
handset. In 2009, the figure was 34%.
Gmail celebrates its 10th anniversary
Vic Gundotra leaves Google+
53% of internet users now have a Google+ account,
up from 42% in 2012.
Microsoft stops support for XP
% using the following OS:
Windows 7 •
50%
Windows XP •
23%
Windows 8 •
16%
Windows Vista •
5%
eBay hacked, highlighting privacy issues
% internet users who did the following last month:
Used private browsing window •
46%
Deleted cookies •
41%
Used ad blocker services •
29%
Used anti tracking tools •
18%
36% of internet users visit eBay each month, with
Germany (71%) and the UK (65%) the top markets
WeChat subject to censorship from authorities
84% of mobile internet users in China are using
WeChat each month
Mark Zuckerberg turns 30 - as Facebook is “oldest”
social platform
Age profile of Facebook active users:
16-24 •
25%
25-34 •
29%
35-44 •
22%
45-54 •
15%
55-64 •
9%

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JULY AUG SEP
Netflix passes 50 million paying subscribers
58% of internet users say they have subscribed to
a video on-demand service such as Netflix, or are
interested in doing so in the future
Google IPO 10th anniversary
50% of internet users are now using Google via
mobile each month
Orkut closes
Just 4% of global internet users were actively using
Orkut in 2014 – peaking at 13% in India
iPod Classic withdrawn
74% of mobile users say their handset has a music
player – up from 65% in 2010
Apple Watch + iPhone 6 announced
64% of online adults say they have used, or are
interested in using, a piece of wearable tech such as
a smart watch or wristband
Alibaba flotation
83% of Chinese internet users bought a product
online last month – higher than in any other country
Amazon buys Twitch
49% of online adults visit Amazon each month - with
45% of them expressing a strong interest in gaming
Twitter unveils ‘Buy’ button
% who have purchased a product online within the
last month: All Internet Users Active Twitter Users
Via Any Device 67% 75%
Via PC/Laptop 62% 68%
Via Mobile 38% 47%
Via Tablet 17% 27%
Facebook removes messaging from main app
% internet users using Facebook Messenger
Q4 2013 Q3 2014
Australia 12% 18%
Sweden 14% 22%
UK 13% 26%
Apple and Samsung agree to end patent dispute
outside of US
36% own Samsung handset
19% own iPhone handset
Twitter sees a record 35.6 million tweets during
Germany’s shock 7-1 demolition of Brazil in the
World Cup
Amazon celebrates 20th anniversary
Amazon’s top 10 markets (% visiting each month)
UK •
78%
Germany •
76%
USA •
74%
Italy •
66%
India •
63%
Canada •
60%
Japan •
60%
Ireland •
59%
France •
51%
China •
45%
Microsoft announces job cuts at Nokia
% who:
Have owned Nokia handset •
42%
Currently own Nokia handset •
15%
Would consider buying a Nokia handset •
12%
Mobile Internet hits 75%
Q1 2011 •
49%
Q2 2011 •
52%
Q4 2011 •
55%
Q2 2012 •
57%
Q4 2012 •
59%
Q1 2013 •
60%
Q2 2013 •
65%
Q3 2013 •
65%
Q4 2013 •
66%
Q1 2014 •
67%
Q2 2014 •
69%
Q3 2014 •
75%

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OCT NOV DEC
10th anniversary of first banner ad Cyber Monday
% in US who bought a product online last month:
Via any Device •
65%
Via PC/laptop •
61%
Via Mobile •
24%
Via Tablet •
13%
Tumblr announces sponsored apps
And overtakes Instagram to become fastest growing
social network with +120% rise in active users in last
six months
BlackBerry Classic smartphones launch
2.7% using BlackBerry OS by end of 2014
PlayStation 20th Anniversary
% with following consoles in their household:
PS3 •
18%
Wii •
16%
Xbox •
14%
PS4 •
7%
Xbox One •
5%
Wii U •
5%
10th anniversary of news aggregator Digg
Apple plans to introduce new subscription offer on
the Beats Music streaming service
% of internet users who have paid for a….
Music streaming Music
subscription Download
Q1 2013 13% 22%
Q3 2014 16% 22%
Netflix announces the development of original
films to be screened online at the same time as
they arrive in the cinema
57% of internet users say they watched a full-length
film via a PC, mobile or tablet last month
“Anti-Facebook” social network Ello reported to be
receiving 37,000 requests to join per hour
Facebook Messenger reported to be introducing
person-to-person payments feature
Globally, more than 50% of Messenger users say
they bought a product via their mobile last month
Yahoo rumored to be investing in Snapchat
30% of Snapchat’s users are in the US
50% still live with their parents
Facebook launches Tor Browser version
3% of internet users say they use VPNs to access the
internet via Tor Browsers
SnapCash and Facebook At Work announced
YouTube and Firefox partner for search
Singles Day in China
Spotify royalties in Europe overtake earnings
via iTunes
8% globally say they used Spotify last month -
peaking at 39% in Sweden
Snapchat funding round values it at £7.5 billion
Fastest growing apps in last 6 months:
Snapchat •
56%
Facebook Messenger •
52%
Instagram •
47%

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During the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil,
GlobalWebIndex was surveying members
of its Real-Time Research Panels in Brazil,
the UK and the USA to understand viewer
engagement behaviors and sponsor recog-
nition levels. Here are the some of the key
numbers that mattered.
THE WORLD
CUP
02

20 15 for 15
Coca-Cola 50%
McDonald’s 49%
Visa 41%
Nike 31%
MasterCard 25%
Samsung 19%
Consistently, more than 95% in Brazil followed each of their team’s
matches in some form. Engagement WENT DOWN with each
match in the UK and trended UPWARDS in USA as the USMNT
performed well.
LIVE TV BROADCASTS dominated viewing behaviors in all
3 countries, but online streaming was much more of a force in
America.
The HOME was the overwhelmingly favorite viewing location
for World Cup games – 8 in 10 in England were watching from
there.
% following matches
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
UK
82%
80%
74%
USA
57%
64%
67%
The MOST recognized sponsors by
the end of the tournament were:
Brands most likely to be mistakenly
picked as official partners:
Sponsorship awareness levels were MUCH HIGHER in Brazil – peaking at 79% for
COCA-COLA.
ALL official sponsors out-performed rivals, with Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Hyundai,
Johnson & Johnson, Budweiser & Emirates being at least TWICE as recognizable as
their closest competitors. However, Adidas (36%) was only just ahead of Nike (31%)
In BRAZIL, virtually all sponsors saw a notable increase in recognition levels
between the start and end of the World Cup - e.g. Budweiser +10%, Sony +15% and
McDonald’s +20%. This did NOT happen in the UK or USA.
SPONSORSHIP BEHAVIORS

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Facebook was the most popular social network during World Cup matches (81%)
Twitter was used by MORE THAN A THIRD of viewers in all countries.
4 in 10 viewers checked social networks during games to see what others were saying. A QUARTER posted their own updates.
FINAL RESULTS were the biggest talking point on social media (74%). But more than 7 in 10 talked about goals and HALF discussed particular players.
TOP 10 TWITTER TRENDS
AMONG GWI’S REAL-TIME PANEL
DURING THE WORLD CUP 2014
#worldcup
Brazil
England
Argentina
Germany
Wimbledon
Suarez
Portugal
Spain
Messi
TOP 10 WORLD CUP TEAMS
(BY MENTIONS/TRENDING)
Brazil
England
Argentina
Germany
Spain
Uruguay
Portugal
Costa Rica
Chile
Ghana
TOP 10 WORLD CUP PLAYERS
Suarez
Messi
Neymar
Ronaldo
Rooney
David Luiz
Robben
James Rodriguez
Sanchez
Tim Howard
TOP 10 WORLD CUP MANAGERS
Van Gaal
Scolari
Del Bosque
Herrera
Capello
Fernando Santos
Prandelli
Niko Kovac
Roy Hodgson
Ottmar Hitzfeld
TOP 10 NON-WORLD CUP-
RELATED TRENDS AMONG
GWI’S REAL-TIME PANEL
Wimbledon
Ramadan
Netflix
Tumblr
4th of July
Starbucks
WhatsApp
Xbox
Transformers
Happy Father’s Day
WORLD CUP: SOCIAL TRENDS

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SOCIAL
NETWORKS &
MESSAGING
APPS
Numbers for the leading players
03

26 15 for 15
In the contest between the “Big 3” social platforms, Facebook has retained its
crown during 2014 – and with some comfort. Excluding China, an impressive
82% of adults aged 16-64 report having an account on the service, a sign of
the platform’s enduring global reach and social dominance. In fact, account
membership stands at 90% in nearly half of the markets surveyed by GWI.
In line with wider social trends, Facebook usage is most widespread in fast-
growth markets – with Indonesia (96%) and Mexico (95%) posting the best
figures of all. Demographics are a partial driver of this; national internet
penetrations in such countries are typically much lower than in mature
markets, with online populations consequently being relatively young, urban
and affluent. Audience sizes can still be vast, though: Indonesia has more
than twice the number of Facebook members as the UK, for example. Other
factors are at work too, though – not least that populations in fast-growth
markets continue to attach a greater premium to internet access and a
higher status to social networking.
Taking second place globally is Google+, a network which performs much
more strongly in fast-growth rather than established markets. Indeed, while
Google+ membership is not too far behind the equivalent for Facebook in
most emerging nations (typically being around 15% lower in places like
Indonesia, India, Thailand and Brazil), the gap is much more sizable in markets
such as the US, UK and Australia (where it reaches 35-40%).
Facebook
still dominates
With founder Vic Gundotra having departed the network during 2014, it’s
clear that he left Google+ with much healthier usage figures than is often
recognized. That membership has continued to climb slowly during the last
year indicates the rising importance of the social platform as a social layer
that connects Google services. Although like-for-like comparisons with
Facebook are inevitable, it should be credited with achieving considerable
success in establishing an alternative social model.
In third place is Twitter, a platform which has usurped Facebook’s crown
in Japan to become the country’s most used network and which boasts
membership levels of two thirds or more in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
and India. It has also displaced Google+ in a handful of other markets,
including Indonesia, the UK and South Korea.
Despite most international social networks being subject to official bans,
it’s worth noting that (significant) minorities in China nevertheless have
accounts on the three platforms, with Google+ (40%) being the most popular
of all (thanks in part to Android’s popularity in the market). As we discuss
later in this report, many are turning to VPNs and Proxy Servers in order to
get access; typically, China in fact accounts for a much bigger share of the
global social audience than many have previously supposed.

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GWI’s comment back in February that Facebook’s $19 billion purchase of
WhatsApp was a smart move has been vindicated through the messaging
service’s consistent growth throughout 2014. By Q2, it had overtaken
Facebook’s own Messenger service to become the top global chat app, being
used by 39% of the mobile audience (excluding China).
WhatsApp’s headline usage figure does, however, mask some extremely
strong variations between markets – with engagement ranging from a high
of 78% in South Africa to a low of 0% in Japan. But while usage is extremely
modest in Facebook’s home market of the US (8%), the coverage it gives the
network in several fast-growth markets – where internet populations are
expanding rapidly each year – is a clear sign of why the app commanded
such a serious price-tag.
Inside China, WhatsApp has a minor presence only (4%). In part, this is the
result of WeChat’s absolute dominance within the Chinese market; a mighty
84% of the country’s mobile audience are now using the app and – despite
the authorities clamping down on certain aspects of mobile messaging
– its position now seems virtually unchallengeable. No other app comes
close to having an audience of such a size within a single market, and that
WeChat also has a significant following in India shows why the international
prospects for the app are strong.
WhatsApp
rules the messaging space
Elsewhere, one of the most headline-grabbing messaging apps of the
year has been Snapchat, the service which famously rejected Facebook’s
buy-out bid but which – rumor has it – is now on Yahoo’s horizon. Despite
growth throughout the year, however, it’s important to note that Snapchat’s
following remains modest from a global scale – lagging behind WhatsApp,
Facebook Messenger, Skype, Viber, Line and WeChat with a headline figure
of just 7%.
The reason it continues to capture our interest is clear, though: it’s a question
of demographics. Snapchat records its best figures in some of the most
scrutinized markets, led by the UK (14%), USA (14%), Ireland (14%), Canada
(12%) and Australia (11%). What’s more, usage in these countries among
the key teen segment is much, much higher – approaching 50% in the UK
and Canada and above 40% in the other three markets. For targeting certain
demographics in certain markets, then, Snapchat represents a highly
attractive option. And remains a serious thorn in Facebook’s side.

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15 FOR 15
The trends to watch in the year ahead.
04

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We’re all used to seeing ad campaigns which target Gen X, Gen Y or – increasingly – Gen Z.
But there’s a new generation on the block who deserve just as much attention. Step forward
Generation V: the millions of internet users across the world who are deploying Virtual Private
Networks (VPNs) or Proxy Servers to get online.
For anyone unfamiliar with these tools, they allow people to bypass traditional connections
and tracking methods to use the internet via a remotely located server; essentially, it’s as
if people are entering the internet discretely via a side door rather than through the main
entrance – with the servers in question often based in nations like the US, Ireland, Sweden or
the Netherlands rather than the user’s home country.
To date, VPN usage has normally been viewed as a fairly niche behavior – something that’s
largely the preserve of tech geeks. But our latest research shows that it’s already transitioned
into a fairly mainstream trend; in 2014, more than a quarter (28%) of internet users globally
said they’d used one. Across the 32 countries in which GWI conducts its quarterly research,
that figure translates to more than 420 million people aged 16-64. Hardly niche, then. And
with VPNs being readily available to download, easy to use and – often – completely free of
charge, this is a number that’s only going to go in one direction.
Question: When you access the internet, do you ever do so using a VPN (virtual private network) or proxy server?
Base: Internet users aged 16-64
Source: GlobalWebIndex 2014

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There are multiple reasons for using VPNs and
Proxy Servers. Some internet users are simply
looking to protect their anonymity, a trend
which is particularly pronounced in some of
the most mature internet nations like France
and Germany. But by far the most popular
motivations are the desire to access content or
sites which are restricted in one’s own country
(49%). It’s about using BBC iPlayer from outside
of the UK, for instance. Or accessing that social
network/news website which is subject to an
official ban – something which explains why
our data picks up significant audiences in China
for sites like Facebook, and why authorities in
Turkey found it so tricky to prevent access to
Twitter early in 2014.
Question: Can you please tell us why you use VPNs or proxy servers when browsing the internet?
Base: VPN users aged 16-64

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Question: When you access the internet,
do you ever do so using a VPN (virtual
private network) or proxy server?
Across the board, GWI’s research shows that internet users in fast-growth
markets are the most likely to turn to VPNs – led by Indonesia (where 41%
of 16-64s say they’ve used one), Thailand (37%), Brazil (37%), China (36%) and
Argentina (34%). Compare that to the US (16%), UK (15%) or Australia (14%) and
the difference in engagement is pretty stark. Work out what that means in
terms of VPN user numbers in a country like China (169 million) and it becomes
more than a little concerning if you’re a content provider or advertiser.
Above all, VPN usage brings major implications for how we understand web
traffic: lots of visitors who are traditionally geo-allocated to the US or other
maturemarketsbasedontheirIPaddressesareactuallylocatedinfast-growth
nations. In particular, our datasets show that large swaths of internet users in
Asia Pacific and Latin America are essentially “going under the radar” when
connecting to social networks, using search portals or consuming content /
news. If we take a site like Bing.com as an example, data from passive web
analytics will typically show that its traffic is dominated by American internet
users. In contrast, our actively collected data shows that – while the US is
still certainly an important market for Bing – the biggest share of its audience
actually comes from China. Meanwhile, India, Brazil and Indonesia account for
significant segments too.
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Question: Which of the following sites have you visited in the last month (via any device)?
Source: GlobalWebIndex Q1 2014
It’s a similar picture for a range of
other sites, including Facebook.
Very consistently, then, audiences
in mature nations are being over-
estimated – just as those from
fast-growth markets are being
dramatically under-appreciated. All
this means that free or ad-supported
content stores are being raided
by users from other countries – a
clear sign of unmet demand and of
how willing people are to obtain the
content they want. Arguably, though,
these trends create their biggest
headache for advertisers; each year,
VPN usage means that billions of
dollars of geo-targeted ad spend is
potentially being misdirected.
For further detail on this subject, please download the following:
The Missing Billion (GWI Insight Report) I VPN and Proxy Server
Usage (GWI Data Pack) I VPNs and Proxy Servers: Usage
Motivations (GWI Data Pack)
Key Implications for 2015
• VPN usage will increase, especially as knowledge of
these tools becomes more widespread. As a result,
using passive analytics alone will not give an accurate
view of who is visiting your site – or being exposed to
advertising.
• Attempting to block access to content or sites by
setting geographical limitations will become more and
more futile. Users will find ways to obtain what they
want and, in a sense, the internet will become more and
more globalized.
• There is significant, and largely unmet, demand for
content among global internet users generally but
among those in fast-growth nations in particular.

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#2
Tablet Fatigue?

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2014 heralded an important milestone for the tablet device; for the first
time, Q2 saw the proportion of adults aged 16-64 using one to access the
internet hit the 33% mark. That represented more than 500 million monthly
tablet users across GWI’s 32 countries. So, all’s looking rosy in the tablet
garden, then?
Well, not quite. Drill down into the numbers a little further and it’s clear that
the rate of growth has been slowing for some time now. Between 2011 and
2012, the percentage accessing the internet via tablets nearly doubled (from
9% to 17%). By 2013, it had jumped again to reach 31%. But over the next
twelve months, a very different picture emerged: tablet usage climbed by
just two percentage points. Still rising, then, but hardly the type of explosive
growth to which we’d become accustomed. In fact, year-on-year increases
in user numbers have dropped from nearly +200% at the start of the decade
to less than +15% in 2014.
So, if the boom days for tablets are over, what’s driving this? Examining the
profile of current users gives us the best evidence: among early adopters,
usage has either stagnated or is in decline. In contrast, it’s the groups who
were initially quite slow to embrace tablets who are now driving today’s
modest growth levels. Question: In the past month, from which of the following devices have you accessed the internet either through a web browser or an
application?

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If we look at age, for
example, it’s 25-34s who
are the heaviest users
(38% in 2014), followed by
35-44s and then the 16-
24s. But there’s been no
substantial growth in any of
these three groups over the
lastyear.It’sonlyamong45-
54s and 55-64s – where
historical usage levels have
been much lower – that
we’re still seeing increases.
Question: In the past month, from which of the following devices have you accessed the internet either through a web browser or an application?

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It’s a similar story for income. Although the popularity of tablets among the
top group remains strong (over half are monthly users), there’s actually been
a decrease in engagement during the last twelve months. Yes, numbers are
still rising in the lower and middle quartiles but this is still a pretty crucial
trend: with wealthier demographics having been the heaviest initial adopters
of tablets, it suggests that long-term owners are using their devices less
frequently than they once did.
Patterns at a national level add more support for this. The Chinese market
is by far the biggest and most important for tablets; it was extremely quick
to embrace the device, with 41% of adults now using them (corresponding
to a mighty 192 million people). However, there’s been a 7% year-on-year
decrease in usage. While this shouldn’t detract from the fact that the numbers
are still ticking upwards in most other countries (even if rather modestly, in
some places), the fact that Chinese usage is on the slide suggests – once
again – that early tablet users are no longer quite as enthused with the
devices as they once were.
Question: In the past month, from which of the following devices have you accessed the internet either through a web
browser or an application?
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Tablet Trends (GWI Trend) I GWI Device (GWI Flagship Report)
Internet Device Access (GWI Data Pack) I Tablet Activities:
All Activities (GWI Data Pack) I Website Visitation - Tablet
(GWI Data Pack)
• Overall tablet usage levels will continue to increase in
2015, but the period of dramatic growth is now over and
future rises will be more modest. In short, we’ll still be
using them but on a less frequent basis and for fewer
activities.
• Mobile screens are getting larger, apps are growing
more sophisticated and the general mobile web
experience is becoming more user-friendly – all of which
means the smartphone is getting better at mimicking
the tablet (especially in the “phablet” category). While
Apple’s iPhone 6+ was a long time in the coming, it
has acted as a further catalyst for this trend. To date,
publishers and brands have been investing heavily in
tablet apps; we might expect this to be slightly less of a
priority in the future.
• That tablet usage levels are comparatively low among
16-24s is a clear sign of the challenges that this device
will face; with this demographic heavily wedded to
mobiles, future growth rates for tablets could easily
be impeded (although it’s worth noting that tablets are
much better positioned to take advantage of growing
online populations in the upper age groups).
• Usage of PCs and laptops is not weakening. Any
suggestion that we are approaching a “post-PC” era
should thus be treated with caution.
We can reinforce this view by looking at tablet behaviors –
i.e. what people are actually doing on their devices. Here,
there’s a pretty consistent story of decline; across all but two
of the 37 online activities monitored by GlobalWebIndex, the
proportions of tablet users who said they’d done them in
2014 were lower than the equivalent figures from 2013. Put
simply, tablet users are less likely to be using their device to
do a range of things online now than they were a year ago;
tablets have increasingly become a nice-to-have rather than
an essential device, with many existing owners struggling to
find a use for them.
Of course, some perspective is essential here. The number
of owners is continuing to increase. And it’s not that tablets
are being abandoned altogether; it’s still nearly two thirds
of users who are doing things like watching video clips or
using webmail, for example. Rather, it’s that – after the initial
novelty of having a tablet has worn off – the devices stop
dominating internet activities in the way they typically do in
the early period of ownership. People return to a much more
multi-device approach.
But the big concern has to be this: while our love affair with
tablets is no longer burning quite so brightly, it’s still going
strong with smartphones (3 in 4 adults are now accessing the
internet via a mobile and most behaviors on these devices
are either stable or trending upwards). Clearly, then, one of
the biggest future challenges for tablets will be to prevent
smartphones from pushing further ahead and, in the process,
diminishing the need for a tablet.

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#3
The New Tech Elite

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When you think of tech-savvy consumers with their finger
on the pulse of the internet, the image that most often
comes to mind is a New Yorker or Londoner. But as the
entry barriers to accessing the internet have disappeared,
emerging markets are now at the very forefront of new
tech and internet trends; in these countries, many of which
missed most of the century of infrastructure building that
set the foundation for western media, populations have
leapfrogged into the digital age. Instead of catching up
with old fashions, these users are forging their own trends
to become a New Tech Elite.
Internet users in fast-growth markets are often young,
affluent and engaged. Brands connecting with consumers
through the internet thus have access to huge numbers
among the youngest demographics; 3 in 10 internet users
from APAC and LatAm are aged 16-24, for example, while
just 2% of Chinese, Indian and Malaysian users are 55-
64. In comparison, the internet population of Europe is
considerably older: 16% of internet users come from the
top age bracket.

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These young internet users are getting online via a range of
devices, with laptops, tablets and mobiles – often shared –
being put to use. On average, Chinese internet users in fact
use three devices to get online each month, with Hong Kong,
Singapore and Turkey not far behind. Nevertheless, mobile is
king: 86% of Chinese, 77% of Malaysian and 73% of Turkish
internet users are connecting via this device, a jump of almost
20 points from two years ago. The proliferation of cheap
smartphones has brought internet access to a generation
who have not needed to invest much, if at all, in laptops or
PCs. In contrast, users in developed countries remain much
more wedded to their computers – only 46% of French users
are surfing the web on a mobile.
Question: Do You Use A Mobile to Access The Internet?

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But it’s not just how people are going online that differentiates
this New Tech Elite – it’s what they are doing on the internet
too. More than 6 in 10 APAC internet users have watched
TVoD online in the last month – only 39% of Europeans have.
What’s more, while rates of TVoD watching in China have
increased by almost 10 points in the last two years, rates in
parts of Europe have been static or seen a small decline.
It’s also pretty telling that, despite Airbnb being founded
and primarily based in America, interest levels in this type
of service are (far) higher elsewhere; GWI’s data shows that
Latin America, and in particular Brazil, are crucial markets
for Airbnb-style offerings (32% of LatAm respondents claim
to have used this type of service, compared to just 8% in
America). The popularity of this new form of accommodation
renting was boosted significantly by the 2014 World Cup and
is on course to be a powerful force in the hospitality business
by the time of the 2016 Olympics.
Question: Are You A Brand-Conscious Person?
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The Missing Billion (GWI Insight Report) I GWI Brand (GWI
Flagship Report) I GWI Device (GWI Flagship Report) I Internet
Device Access (GWI Data Pack) I Sharing Economy (GWI Trend) I
Online Activities: Watched TV On Demand Online (GWI Data Pack)
I Self Perceptions: All Perceptions (GWI Data Pack)
• As the economies of fast-growth markets continue
to strengthen and average incomes rise, lucrative
consumer bases will want the newest technology
and internet services. And with each year that passes
seeing millions of individuals in these countries using
the internet for the first time, it’s these markets which
will drive by far the biggest growth in terms of the size
of the global internet population.
• Audiences are becoming more internationalized,
connecting around passions and interests and meeting
on social networks. The rise of truly worldwide platforms
like Facebook and YouTube – as well as globalized access
to information, education, entertainment and markets
for selling – means that everyone can get great internet
services regardless of local investment or market size.
•Previously,someadvertisershavetypicallytargetedon
a market-by-market basis, working with local advertiser
sellers via agency networks. But in the era of the truly
cross-border internet audience, global platforms and
advertiser solutions are changing this and making global
advertising much more viable.
Latin American internet users are also forging a path ahead
of others in their support of crowd-funded projects, such as
Kickstarter. While only 9% of Europeans have engaged with
one of these projects, this rises to about a third in LatAm.
This new model is yet to make a great impact in APAC (17%)
but, with interest in such projects standing at 34% across the
region, it’s clear that the prospects for Kickstarter and similar
such services are strong.
Brand-relevant attitudes tend to be particularly pronounced
among the New Tech Elite too. In countries such as France
and Italy, just a quarter describe themselves as being brand-
conscious; in contrast, two-thirds of Indonesian and Mexican
internet users think of themselves in this way. And while
majorities of Chinese (57%) and Indian (54%) internet users
say that they tend to buy brands they see advertised, the
already lower figures in North America and Europe are either
stalling or falling.
Of course, audiences in “mature” markets remain vitally
important, especially in terms of per-person spending power.
But there are now huge tech- and brand-savvy audiences in
other markets that might previously have been discounted
due to low levels of overall internet usage or modest GDP
rates. And, as the costs of devices and internet access
continue to fall, we’re looking at a global marketplace where
the barriers which used to delineate the “developed” and
“developing” worlds are increasingly meaningless.

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#4
Facebook Gets Passive

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Facebook was once the natural go-to point for most of
the things we wanted to do on social networks. But as the
online space has become more crowded and competitive,
the one-site-fits-all model of networking has been losing
ground; messaging services as well as more specialized
platforms like Instagram and Pinterest have all seen
strong growth as people have turned to different services
to carry out different activities (for more on this, see our
Multi-Networking trend). Meanwhile, Facebook itself has
been recording small declines in active usage.
While this has been happening, some have leapt at the
chance to proclaim the “end” of Facebook – an almost
guaranteed way to grab headlines and capture attention.
But this is a serious misunderstanding of current trends.
Perspective is essential here; although Facebook might
have become the site that it’s no longer terribly cool for
some segments to say they use or like, it’s still the number
one global service (and by quite some distance). It has more
members, more visitors and more active users than any
other social network. So too can Zuckerberg and co boast
ownership of one of the the fastest growing networks
(Instagram) and one of the biggest rising messaging
services (WhatsApp).
It’s not that people are abandoning Facebook, then; rather,
it’s that people are carrying out fewer actions once there.
We’re still visiting it, but we’re not necessarily using it for
all of the things that we once did. It’s becoming more of a
general hub that connects and underlies many of our social
behaviors, rather than the place that hosts them directly.
Looking at some of Facebook’s numbers from GWI’s 32
markets over the last year is perhaps the best way to
illustrate this.

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Source: GlobalWebIndex Q4 2012 - Q2 2014

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Membership of Facebook has been trending upwards for some time
now. Sure, it’s increasing at a gentle rate – and did see a very small
decline in the last quarter – but the upward pattern for this measure
has been a pretty consistent one. Considering that the service is now
more than ten years old, that’s an impressive achievement – especially
as the numbers who say they have visited the network via any device
within the last month remain in the ascendancy too. In terms of overall
reach, Facebook is still the giant it’s always been.
It’s only when we turn our attention to what GWI defines as active
usage (those who consider themselves to be actively engaging with
Facebook) that a different picture emerges; on this measure, there’s
a continuing decline in evidence. That the drop is consistent across all
regions strongly suggests that – while people are not leaving Facebook
– they are beginning to use it a little less frequently and/or intensively
than before. In a nutshell, Facebook usage is becoming more passive
– a trend reflected in the shrinking numbers carrying out fundamental
actions such as updating their status or uploading/sharing photos and
videos. The same pattern emerges if we analyze the numbers who say
they have clicked the “like” button in the past month: across 2013 and
2014, there has been a steady decrease here. Question: Thinking about Facebook, could you please tell us if you have done any of the following in the past month through any device?
Clicked the Facebook Like button
Base: Active Facebook users aged 16-64
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GWI Social (GWI Flagship Report) I Understanding Facebook’s
User Numbers (GWI Trend) I Facebook Visitors in MENA (GWI
Infographic) I WhatsApp Users (GWI Infographic) I Instagram
Users (GW Infographic) I Account Ownership: Social Platforms
(GWI Data Pack) I Active Usage: Social Platforms (GWI Data Pack)
I Website Visitation (GWI Data Pack)
• Facebook will remain the number one global
social platform, offering the greatest reach and the
most members. It is so embedded within online
infrastructures and networking habits that it will not be
abandoned or lose its relevance. This is especially true
now that it owns Instagram and WhatsApp; although
both services are to remain separate from Facebook,
they are part of its architecture.
• Despite Facebook’s quest to develop more innovations
in-house, its track record of successful and highly on-
trend purchases – together with its vast resources –
make further acquisitions highly likely in 2015.
• Networking will continue to grow more specialized and
mobile-centric, with usage of the bigger platforms like
Facebook, Twitter and Google+ evolving as a result. Any
declines in behaviors on these services will be seized
upon as evidence for the “death” of social networking,
but they need to be viewed within the context of
wider social behaviors and the diversifying number of
platforms available to internet users.
In conjunction with the rise of more specialized services, this
shift from active to slightly more passive engagement on
Facebook is an inevitable consequence of social networking
migrating to mobile devices – a space where the newsfeed
becomes key and people are more likely to be viewing
updates rather than actively interacting with others. Despite
its protestations otherwise, Facebook’s decision to strip
the messaging functionality out of its main app and move
people to using the dedicated Messenger service instead is
a clear response to this; the danger for Facebook was that its
mobile presence (and brand) became increasingly sidelined
– especially considering that WhatsApp is positioned as a
standalone service. By encouraging (or forcing) people to
use Messenger, Facebook retains its relevance and presence
even as mobile behaviors evolve. And it’s a tactic that has
paid clear dividends; as our timeline earlier in this report
demonstrates, usage in countries like the UK and Sweden
jumped massively during 2014. People are still Facebooking,
then, but in a new way.
What’s more, brands should not necessarily view these
changing user behaviors on Facebook as a problem. Firstly,
the arrival of Atlas allows Facebook to target people
effectively across devices and browsers, a theme we explore
in more detail in our Track Me If You Can trend. But, just as
critically, the huge success of Facebook Exchange and
existing mobile advertising solutions has been underpinned
by the proposition of reaching specific audiences or people;
for ads to be targeted accurately, people don’t need to be
actively engaging with Facebook, they just need to be visiting
it or have the app installed. So, as long as visitor numbers
remain stable or on the rise – as they have been for a long
time now – revenues will follow.

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We’re all used to hearing about the increasingly online
nature of our daily lives as well as the shift from
traditional to digital forms of media. But GWI’s long-term
data shows that an important milestone has now been
passed: 2014 marked the first time that, on average,
younger internet users watched more than an hour of
online television each day.
Of course, one (rather large) caveat is needed here: linear
TV is not being abandoned. Despite consistent year-on-
year rises for online viewing, traditional TV still rules the
roost – accounting for the biggest share of our time each
day and remaining our single biggest media activity by
some distance. Globally, we still watch around 2.5 hours
of linear TV each day; that represents nearly a quarter
of our total media time and compares to just 0.70 hours
spent on online viewing.

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Even so, the time we devote to online TV has
been rising in almost every country surveyed by
GlobalWebIndex – just as the number of hours
spent on linear TV has typically been edging
downwards very gently. The shifts might not
be dramatic, but the direction of travel is clear:
we’re seeing a small and gradual migration away
from linear towards online, driven – among other
things – by the easy availability of online catch-up
and streaming services as well as the creation of
online-only content from names such as Amazon,
Netflix and the BBC. It also reflects growing usage
of mobiles and tablets as content consumption
devices.
This picture can however vary significantly at a
national level. In several mature markets – including
Australia, France, Japan and the Netherlands –
typical daily time spent on linear TV is at least five
times greater than the equivalent devoted to online
forms. And it’s Americans who remain the biggest
linear TV consumers of all, watching an average of
some 3.40 hours per day.
Question: On a typical day, roughly how many hours do you spend on/doing the following?

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Question: On a typical day, roughly how many hours do you spend on/doing the following?
In contrast, internet populations in several fast-growth markets have embraced online
TV more fervently. As an example, internet users in China are now watching just 1.17
hours of linear TV per day, meaning it’s in this country where online and linear viewing
are closest to reaching parity (with the former now accounting for 1.03 hours per day).
This, then, could be the first market where – as we’ve already seen in most countries in
relation to print press – online takes the lead.
By far the most striking trends emerge if we look at television viewing behaviors by age.
When the BBC announced its intention to shift its youth-oriented BBC3 channel online,
there was a predictable – but nevertheless sizable – outcry from most quarters. The
corporation defended the decision by asserting that “for this [younger] generation…
[on-demand viewing] is a key part of the future for public service broadcasting. It’s the
gateway for people who increasingly want to watch and listen to what they want, when
they want it – on tablets, on mobiles as well as other screens.”
GWI’s figures confirm that it is indeed younger viewers who are engaging with online
TV (and online media more generally) the most enthusiastically. Above all, it’s the rise
of mobiles which is driving this; 16-24s spend the most time online overall but, while
the gaps between them and other age groups are relatively small for PCs, laptops and
tablets, they are sizable for mobiles (55-64s are typically spending just 0.54 hours on the
mobile web each day, a figure which jumps to 2.77 hours for 16-24s).
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Digital vs Traditional Media Consumption (GWI Insight Report) I
GWI Entertainment (GWI Flagship Report) I Time Spent Watching
TV - Traditional (GWI Data Pack) I Time Spent Watching TV Online
(GWI Data Pack) I Online Activities (Any Platform): Watched TV
On-Demand Online (GWI Data Pack) I Online Activities (Any
Platform): Streamed Live TV (GWI Data Pack)
• With digital media commanding an increasing share
of our time, there are clear implications for online
marketing budgets – especially as the need to validate
audiences becomes more important. And this is very
much a cross-market phenomenon, with consumers in
fast-growth markets typically spending the most time
online (despite national internet penetration rates often
remaining modest).
• Traditional media still remains hugely important,
especially for television; while we are certainly seeing
shifts from offline to online, their scale and speed should
not be over-exaggerated. Indeed, rather than traditional
being replaced by digital, in many contexts it’s much
more accurate to talk of them co-existing in parallel as
behaviors evolve to incorporate elements of both. This
requires strategies which are increasingly digital-first
but which nevertheless reflect the fact that there are
multiple media touchpoints for today’s internet users.
•Acrosstheboard,mobileisrisingrapidlyandaccounting
for a bigger and bigger share of the total time spent
online. The days when the internet = a browser on a PC/
laptop are long over. This trend is especially pronounced
among younger segments – and 16-24s especially – as
well as in fast-growth markets. Mobile-first content and
apps must be an absolute priority.
Question: On a typical day, roughly how many hours to you spend on/doing
the following?
It’s also pretty telling that the amount of time spent on
linear viewing rises directly in line with age whereas, for
online TV, 16-24s watch four times as much per day as
55-64s. Currently, 16-24s are in fact the only age group
already spending a daily average of 1 hour+ on online TV
(up from 0.82 hours in 2012).
Age-based differences are even starker when these
figures are converted to percentages: in the youngest
group, a third of the total time spent watching television
is on online forms (vs just 7% among 55-64s). Although
BBC3’s fate is far from finalized, then, it’s not hard to
understand the reasons why the corporation’s youth
channel was selected for the move to online. Linear TV
might still be the most dominant force, but younger
consumers are at the very forefront of the charge
towards online entertainment.

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For some time now, economists have been debating the exact moment when
China’s rapidly growing economy will overtake that of America to become
the biggest in the world. But there’s one area where this reversal of positions
has happened already – and that place is online.
Despite markets like the US and UK continuing to dominate the world of
digital trends, the simple fact is that the size of China’s online population
dwarfs the equivalent in any other nation. As our chart shows, Chinese
internet users outnumber their American counterparts by a ratio of more
than 2.5 to 1; across the 32 markets that GlobalWebIndex surveys each year,
the country in fact accounts for just over 30% of all users. That gives China
vast influence in terms of global trends and shows why, without success in
this particular market, global penetration figures for particular services or
websites are rather compressed.

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As Alibaba prepared to float, raising its stock price in response to unprecedented levels of
demand, many in the West were left a little surprised about the sheer scale and size of Alibaba’s
operations. But GWI’s data shows why it’s enjoyed such huge levels of success: internet users
in China are the most likely of all to purchase products online each month. The stats are in fact
pretty breath-taking: a huge 84% of online adults aged 16-64 bought something online last
month, a figure which – by our estimates – translates to nearly 400 million people. It’s also in
China where we find some of the most developed levels of m- and t-commerce, as well as a
significant minority (of c. 40%) who are using the internet to sell products.
If you’re still skeptical about these numbers, then taking a closer look at other digital areas
gives further confirmation of China’s growing digital dominance. Tencent-owned WeChat has
more monthly users than either WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. It’s a trend being driven
by near-blanket usage in China; more than 4 in 5 among China’s mobile internet population
are using WeChat each month, giving it the type of reach that most other messaging services
would kill for. But with significant (and growing) user bases in many other countries – including
Singapore, India, Malaysia and Taiwan – it’s a fairly safe bet that we’ll be hearing more about
WeChat in the months ahead.
Question: Which of the following things have you done online in the last month? Purchased a product

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It’s a similar story with social
networks. If we rank all of
the platforms tracked by
GlobalWebIndex by their global
member numbers, Chinese
services account for four of
the top ten – with Sina Weibo
and Tencent Weibo (roughly
speaking, Chinese equivalents
of Twitter), Youku (comparable
to YouTube) and Qzone
(reminiscent of Facebook) all
featuring on the list.
Question: On which of the following services do you have an account?
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China(GWIMarketReport) I GWICommerce(GWIFlagshipReport)
I Website Visitation (GWI Data Pack) I Social Networking in
China (GWI Infographic)
• The continuing ascendancy of Chinese companies
– as well as those from other fast-growth nations
– will represent a bigger and bigger challenge to the
previously dominant position of US-based names.
Amazon is already out-gunned by Alibaba in terms of
size but, to date, the former has been able to trade on
its much greater recognition levels among consumers in
established markets.
• Online buying has for some time now been an integral
part of the social experience in a country like China, with
internet users much more willing to make purchases
outside of “traditional” e-commerce environments.
International success for a company like Alibaba –
which is a hub for more activities and services than
we have traditionally been accustomed to in “mature”
markets – could well encourage this mindset to spread.
That a company like Twitter is so keen to introduce a
“Buy” button is a sign that activity in this area is set to
intensify.
From commerce to social, then, it’s pretty clear that Chinese
companies are already global players in their own right, with
audience sizes which are at least comparable to – if not bigger
than – the equivalents for Western companies like Amazon,
eBay, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc. Typically, we don’t
know much about them in places like the UK or US because
Western companies have captured much more attention. As
digital behaviors are still scrutinized much more closely in the
“mature” markets, the rise of Chinese platforms has often
passed unnoticed. In short, we’ve perhaps been a little guilty
of assuming the West-to-Rest model is still dominant, not
factoring in the possibility of it being disrupted by companies
from other markets.
Certainly, names like Facebook, Twitter and Amazon do have
footprints in China (as we’ve seen above, large numbers
are turning to VPNs, Proxy Servers and other tools to gain
access to those sites subject to official restrictions). But
they’re nevertheless at a distinct disadvantage compared
to China’s home-grown players which already have vast and
captive domestic audiences. In that respect, the Alibabas and
WeChats of the digital world are in a pretty unique and hugely
interesting position: having achieved sizable followings in
China, they’re now looking outwards for further success.
Meanwhile, their international competitors have considerable
– and perhaps even insurmountable – ground to cover before
their Chinese audiences could be anywhere near comparable.
If Alibaba does go on to thrive outside of China – and its
flotation proves that there’s certainly huge interest – we’ll
be looking at a truly global digital giant. Seen in this light, the
notion of West-to-Rest begins to feel pretty anachronistic.
And that the company achieved the biggest ever IPO valuation
doesn’t seem quite so surprising.
Alibaba’s flotation is a clear sign of things to come.

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#7
The Slow Death
of Search

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challenge this presents for Google is not just that search is less of a fundamental behavior on this platform. It’s that mobiles have brought
with them so many other ways for consumers to navigate the internet and find the information for which they are looking.
Now, let’s be clear here. Search engines are not about to disappear overnight. Nor is Google’s relevance about to be wounded fatally.
Nevertheless, looking at some of the numbers for search gives a clear sign of the challenge that the internet giant faces.
With 2014 marking the 10th anniversary of
Google’s IPO, it’s hard to deny the ubiquity that
the search portal has in the daily lives of digital
consumers; of the 150 or so web brands tracked
by GlobalWebIndex, Google is the one with by far
the best reach. Indeed, that 85% of adult internet
users are visiting the site in some form each
month is a remarkable achievement (by way of
comparison, the next closest names – YouTube
and Facebook – can boast visitation rates of 67%
and 60% respectively).
Nevertheless, Google has a problem. And that
problem is mobile. Its current dominance on
the web is a result of PCs and laptops being
so fundamental to the way that the internet
developed. And while these devices aren’t going
anywhere – with multi-device internet usage
being the standard approach adopted by most
users – it’s clear that mobiles are playing an
increasingly important role as internet access
points (with their audience increasing in size with
each quarter of research that we undertake). The
Question: Which of the following sites have you visited online in the past month? A search engine
Base: PC/Laptop Users aged 16-64

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Firstly, overall usage of search engines is in decline. Certainly, it’s a very, very
gentle decline – from 90% in 2009 to 86% in 2014 (with vertical searches within
other websites playing their part here: why look for a product on Google when
you can go straight to Amazon and start your search there instead?). On first
glance, this very slight downward trend might not seem dramatic. However,
we have to remember that the size of the global internet population has grown
dramatically during this period; a 4% drop over 5 years in fact represents a huge
segment of internet users who are no longer turning to search engines as the
gateway to the internet.
Far more significant, though, is the strong link between Google and PCs/
laptops. Look at engagement rates by device and the differences are stark: the
vast majority of PC and laptop users are visiting Google on a monthly basis,
whereas the equivalent figure among mobile internet users is just 50%. And
even on tablets, where the experience is closer to a PC, it’s only 57% who are
visiting Google. As we’ve stressed, PCs and laptops aren’t being abandoned.
But it is clear – and abundantly so – that mobiles are capturing a progressively
bigger share of internet time and traffic, especially in fast-growth markets.
Question: Which of the following websites / services have you visited or used in the last month? Google

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Of course, most web brands would pay a handsome
premium to have a 50% reach among mobile
internet users. Seen in this light, these numbers are
still pretty solid for Google. But that there is such a
gap between the brand’s usage on different devices
is a clear sign of the fundamental changes to web
behaviors that the rise of the mobile internet is
causing.
We find more evidence for this evolution if we look
at the sources people say they use to investigate
products and services on the internet. Despite
search engines being in first place – at just over
50% – it’s the sheer diversity of sources that
people now use which is the most striking trend
here. Search engines might be a default go-to
point on the internet, but they don’t dominate our
commercial behaviors in quite the way that many
have supposed.
Question: Which of the following online sources are you primarily
using when you are actively looking to find out more information
about brands, products, or services?
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Teens (GWI Audience Report) I GWI Brand (GWI Flagship Report)
Types of Site Visited (GWI Data Pack) I Brand Research Channels
(GWI Data Pack) I Brand Discovery Touchpoints (GWI Data Pack)
I Website Visitation (GWI Data Pack)
• The dominance of search will continue for some time
to come, remaining the default go-to or starting point
in many purchase journeys. But it’s now beyond doubt
that mobile tools – and apps in particular – will play
an increasingly important role here, something which
brings considerable consequences for the potential
effectiveness of paid search on these devices.
• While younger internet users have not abandoned
traditional research channels, they are much more open
to using newer avenues of exploration and tend to place
a higher general premium on anything to do with mobile
or social.
• From a long-term perspective, the way the internet
is evolving means that visiting a stand-alone search
engine will make less sense; as such, we can expect
Google (and other names operating within the search
space) to place considerable focus on innovating and
refining their offers so that they react to changing user
behaviors.
or mobile-friendly channels without visiting a search engine
first. And although still in their nascent stages, we have to
imagine that the growing sophistication of visual- or voice-
based technologies will eventually have a similar impact on
the need or desire to visit a search portal.
As we’ve noted, the scale and speed of the changes in
behavior here should not be over-estimated. But that this is
one further area where mobiles are having a transformative
effect seems clear.
Break these figures down by age and some particularly
interesting trends emerge. Among teens – defined here as
16-19s – usage of search engines is absolutely in line with
the average. Yet look at the places where the youngest
internet users over-index the most and it’s mobiles that
come top of the list: teens are 30% more likely than average
to be using apps as a research channel. They’re also ahead
on other “newer” sources of discovery such as video/content
sites, micro-blogs and pinboards. In a sense, then, the rise
of mobile means that – in some cases – search engines are
being leap-frogged; we’re going directly to familiar, popular

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#8
Always-On Consumers:
Wearable Tech Gets Mainstream

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Once upon a time, the consensus in some quarters was
that wearable tech would explode on to the scene and
transform the daily life of the typical digital consumer. In
truth, the Wearable Revolution has been a slow burner;
early adopters and tech influencers aside, new releases
have been greeted with a sense of curiosity more than a
burning desire to buy them.
One of reasons for this has been a failure by the industry
to provide consumers with good enough reasons to use
wearable tech; essentially, it’s felt as if a large number
of wearable devices released thus far have been created
because they could be, not because they were genuinely
needed. As a result, wearable tech still inhabits the domain
of a nice-to-have device, rather an essential must-have
one. Google Glass – which we reviewed during 2014 – is
a prime example of this; it’s a fun device that most people
want to play with once, but what’s the reason for wearing it
a second time? It’s also pretty telling that the Pebble watch
received a hefty price-cut towards the end of 2014; this
was always part of the plan, so we were told, but a lack of
marketplace enthusiasm is likely to have played a part too.
All that said, a number of signs point to 2015 being a big
year for wearable tech. Firstly, the long-awaited Apple
Watch has now graduated from rumor to reality. It’s far
from the first smartwatch to hit the market, but the über-
loyalty of Apple consumers means that its arrival is more
hotly anticipated than any of its rivals. In short, many
iPhone users will want to buy it because it’s an Apple
product, rather than because they were in the market for
a smartwatch per se. It’s also true – as Apple itself has
pointed out – that the company has a proven track record of
entering a sector late but then establishing a commanding
position of influence.

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Elsewhere, Google Glass is widely expected to release a Consumer
Edition carrying a (much) lower price-point than the Explorer
version (which has priced all but the most committed out of the
market). More generally, high-profile hirings of big-name fashion
designers by wearable tech companies mean that the aesthetics
of the devices in question continue to improve. And developers
now seem to have clocked that features need to be genuinely
useful rather than just cool – that they need to offer a better / more
convenient / more intuitive experience than using a smartphone
for the same activity.
But perhaps the most promising sign for wearable tech is the
strong levels of interest it generates among consumers. As our
chart shows, current levels of engagement with devices such as
smart wristbands and smartwatches might be relatively modest
(a fifth globally report having used one), but twice the number (two
fifths) are keen to try them in the future.

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Despite the US being the home of Google
Glass (as well as some other notable
pieces of wearable tech), it is North
America which posts the lowest figures
of all. With the European numbers also
being comparatively low, it’s clear that
consumers in these markets remain
more skeptical than their counterparts
in other regions. However, the older
average age profile of European and
North American internet populations
is a strong contributor here: younger
consumers consistently express by far
the highest levels of enthusiasm.
Question: Which of these things have you done already and which are you interested in doing in the future? Use wearable technology that
connects to the internet (e.g. a smart watch, a smart wristband, Google Glass)
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Wearable Tech (GWI Trend)
• Wearable tech still has a number of hurdles to
overcome as well as a range of consumer reservations
to address – from concerns over privacy and data
collection to questions about its practicality and
appearance. Clearly, we are still some distance from
it being a regular sight on the streets, especially as
expressed levels of interest will always outpace actual,
on-the-ground levels of engagement. Nevertheless,
that wearable technology represents a significant
future access point for the internet is something of a
certainty. Today’s multi-device approach to internet
usage is about to expand still further.
• The amount of time we spend on the internet is
bound to increase, especially as wearable tech brings
coverage to new occasions and locations. As a 24-
hour, any-location type of internet access becomes
more common, we will talk much less of “going online”
and “logging in” and much more of “tuning in and out”
from the internet. And with consumers in search of
ever more convenience, it’s highly likely that certain
online behaviors which have already migrated heavily
to mobiles could jump once again, this time to wearable
devices.
Globally, men have a lead over women and the younger age groups post much stronger figures than
the older ones. But while the expense of certain wearable tech devices has traditionally meant they
are associated with wealthier demographics, there is less of an income effect in evidence than might
have been expected. Certainly, respondents in the top income quartile do show the highest levels of
engagement to date (26%), but the gap between them and the middle (20%) or bottom quartiles (22%)
is not substantial. Levels of future interest are also relatively even. Wearable tech can thus boast fairly
universal appeal in this respect, meaning the Apple Watch and other devices are entering a marketplace
in which consumers of all wealth levels are potential customers.
It might have been a relatively slow start for wearable tech, then, but 2015 should be the year when it
gets much more mainstream.

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Google Glass remains something of an enigma. Sure, most of us have read
about it and seen videos of it in action. But very few of us have actually worn
a pair; essentially, it’s the idea of Google Glass that has shaped most of our
views to date, not the reality.
With little or no hands-on experience of Google Glass, it’s easy to subscribe
to the view that the device is the White Elephant of the wearable tech world.
But its current rarity is also its biggest trump card: attempt to find anyone
with an interest in tech who isn’t at least a bit keen to try a pair out for
themselves and you’ll have a long old search.
So, leaving all preconceptions and Glasshole references at the door,
GlobalWebIndex spent some time in 2014 playing with wearable tech’s most
famous creation to give a view on that most crucial of questions: will people
continue to use Google Glass once the initial novelty fades?
Now, Google has been pretty clear that the Explorer Edition made available to
purchase in the US and UK markets was very much a beta work-in-progress;
the device is still at the beginning of its journey and Google is keen for initial
userstohelpshapeitsfuture.Butwithaprice-tagof$1500/£1000,Explorers
are (rightly) going to expect to get a lot for their money. And herein lies the
major problem for Google Glass in its current iteration: the Explorer Edition
comes with some fairly chaotic juxtapositions. It’s a device where possibility
meets frustration, where neat features sit side-by-side with rather irksome
ones, and where the user experience veers between the cool and the slightly
awkward. It is fun, but it’s not yet useful enough.
Let’s start with some positives. Firstly, it’s nowhere near as cumbersome,
clunky or unstylish as sometimes stated. Quite the opposite, in fact: it’s
pretty light and comfortable, it’s not too intrusive on your vision and you
become used to wearing it remarkably soon after putting it on. And while it
will need a lot of changes before it’s anything approaching a discreet device
– no-one is going to miss the fact that you’re wearing it in its current version,
that’s for sure – it does have a certain elegance and simplicity (something
which is equally true for the unboxing experience: retrieving Google Glass
from its packaging for the first time is pretty satisfying).
In terms of capabilities and features, even the most skeptical of users out
there would be hard-pressed to deny that some of them are pretty useful.
While not perfect – especially outside – the voice recognition works better
than several other comparable systems, particularly for searches. The app
range, although currently limited, contains most of the big names that you
would want, Google Now is as cool as ever and it’s obvious to see how
the directions and other location-based features will prove useful. It’s also
pleasingly quick and easy to capture videos and photos.
Google Glass Reviewed:
Hit or Hype?

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That said, many of these potential strengths are not quite
realized in the best way in the current iteration of Glass.
One of the most obvious instances of Google developing
a feature because it could, rather than because it would be
truly wanted, is the ability to take a photo by winking one
of your eyes (the alternative being to use voice command,
whichtakesalittlelonger).Thisisoneplacewherewearable
tech should – and does – have an obvious advantage over
a smartphone; instant capturing means no photo opps are
missed while you rummage for your mobile and fire up
its camera. But after you’ve had a little fun “calibrating”
Glass to your eyes and winking cheekily at colleagues to
capture a photo of them, the idea of doing this while out
and about is (for this user at least) incredibly unappealing.
In fact, most people are still pretty nervous when they see
you’re wearing Google Glass: the perception remains that
everyone who uses the device is capturing footage on a
constant basis.
This touches on a wider problem which cuts across the
whole Glass experience: you get the sense that developers
have spent so much time concentrating on the appearance
of the device itself that they’ve forgotten about how
the user behind the Glass will look (or want to look). Too
often, interacting with Google Glass makes you look
thoroughly distracted. Or, worse, a little stupid. It’s just too
obvious when a user is looking at the screen, something
which undermines how stylish the device itself can be in
isolation. Similar frustrations emerge in relation to the “OK
Glass” command; it’s fine at first but the device’s need for
constant confirmation quickly becomes frustrating. There’s
also far too heavy an emphasis on connecting to Google+,
while the battery life simply has to get better.
None of these issues represents a fatal blow for the device,
however. As we’ve noted, this is still the beta version
and a few tweaks here and there would transform the
user experience. If the gesture for capturing a photo was
changedfromawinktosomethingslightlymoreacceptable,
for example, then you’ve suddenly got an amazing – and
genuinely useful – feature that no smartphone would be
able to replicate. And this is exactly where Google needs to
go on the attack: so many of the activities that we currently
carry out on our phones could easily migrate to Glass and
become extremely intuitive, quick and – crucially – hands-
free.
There can be little doubt that Google Glass is a device
which has the potential to be genuinely game-changing in a
future incarnation. Sure, capabilities need to evolve, public
perceptions need to shift, the price-tag needs to fall and
Google needs to give us better reasons to use it. But all of
these hurdles are perfectly jumpable. It’s still legitimate to
question whether “typical” consumers will be using it on
the streets any time soon, but its potential applications in
more specialized contexts are already immense (it’s not
hard to picture subsequent versions being used by health
professionals, inside industry or in military environments,
for example). And the glimpse it gives us into just how
much more connected and internet-integrated our lives
could soon become is genuinely exciting.
For the moment, though, we should just enjoy Google
Glass for what it is: a fun novelty with some seriously cool
– if not yet fully refined – capabilities.

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#9
Android Excels

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Within the digital community, few events
create quite such a buzz as the release of a
new iPhone handset. For many, it remains
the smartphone par excellence – and the
one for which apps are almost always
developed first.
Look at the numbers, though, and this
enduring Apple-first mindset becomes a
bit questionable. At a global level, Android
is now in a truly dominant – and almost
unchallengeable – position; while a mighty
69% of mobile users have the Android
operating system, just a fifth are running
Apple’s iOS for iPhone.
That Android is in first position is not a
new development; it’s enjoyed a lead over
iOS in each of GWI’s research waves from
2011 onwards. What has changed is the
size of the gap separating the two.
Question: What operating system runs on your mobile?
Base: Mobile users aged 16-64

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Question: What operating system
runs on your mobile?
Three years ago, the ratio of Android to iOS users was just
under 2:1; in 2014, it has increased significantly to stand at
more than 3.5:1. Yes, iPhones still generate a huge amount of
revenue for Apple and, yes, they are still much more attractive
in terms of app development. But no matter how profitable
and cool iPhones and the Apple brand might be, there’s no
disguising that the company has lost considerable ground in
the early to mid 10s.
Android has been helped by its more affordable price-point and
its availability on a much wider range of models. But there’s
more to it than this. Analyzing usage levels on a country-
by-country basis reveals another key difference: Android
consistently posts its best figures in fast-growth markets.
Here, there are typically 4 to 8 times as many people using
Android as there are iOS – with even higher ratios in places like
Argentina and Poland.

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Question: What operating system runs on your mobile?
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GWI Device (GWI Flagship Report) I Operating Systems: Mobile
(GWI Data Pack) I Operating Systems: Tablet (GWI Data Pack)
• The Apple-first mindset in terms of app development
and the more general mobile web experience is unlikely
to weaken. But optimizing for Apple before any other
operating system will bring very different results
depending on the demographic and market in question.
In no country will it provide reach of over 40% in terms of
the mobile population; in some cases, the figure will be
much lower than this.
• Android must not be an afterthought. Certainly, this
OS presents its fair share of challenges for publishers
– with the wide range of devices on which it runs
creating obvious hurdles in terms of app development.
Nevertheless, its position in some quarters as the poor
relation of iOS is a serious disservice to global trends;
quite simply, Android has a much bigger audience
already and its reach is growing at the quicker rate.
Failing to provide apps and other tech infrastructure
for these users risks excluding a huge segment of the
mobile audience.
In short, Apple has failed to demonstrate its appeal in the
majority of emerging markets. But these countries are hugely
important for any mobile brand: their online populations
are growing at rapid year-on-year rates, with mobiles
representing a particularly important internet gateway. A lack
of engagement now is an obvious issue, but it’s one which
will get more and more serious in future years: if Apple can’t
begin winning users in these markets, the gap separating it
from Android at a global level will only get bigger. It’s also
pretty telling that Android is ahead of iOS in every single
market surveyed by GlobalWebIndex; while Android is used
by more than 50% of the mobile audience in 30 of GWI’s 32
countries, iOS hits the 40% mark in just two nations.
There are some positives for Apple, though. It enjoys its
best engagement rates in a number of key, mature markets
such as Australia, Canada, the US and Japan – a trend which,
incidentally, helps to explain the buzz that Apple always
generates: we tend to hear far more about digital behaviors
in these markets (which are seen by many as a bellwether for
what’s happening at a global level).
One of its other strengths emerges when we look at the
demographics of mobile users. Compared to Android, it can
claim that its users have a wealthier profile (usage of iOS
increases in line with income, whereas the equivalent Android
figures fall slightly).
This, then, is the key tension for marketers to contend with
in 2015 and beyond: does Apple’s stronger performance
among higher income consumers and in the markets usually
considered to be the most “important” outweigh Android’s
soaring popularity at a global level?

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While 2014 was a big year for acquisitions and new
product launches, we also waved goodbye to a number
of once-notable or dominant names in the digital space.
Following the transformation of Dutch networking
site Hyves into a gaming platform in late 2013,
September saw Google’s Orkut platform shutting its
doors for the final time – a move which highlighted
the continuing difficulties that local social networks
are having in the face of competitors which can boast
truly global audiences (Orkut had relatively impressive
memberships levels in markets like Brazil and India but
had failed to make much of an impact in the majority of
GWI’s countries).
Elsewhere, Apple’s announcement that the iPod Classic
was being withdrawn was a clear sign of the times; it’s
still one of the company’s most iconic products, but
the shift towards listening to music via a mobile had
long diminished the iPod’s relevance. Microsoft ended
support for Windows XP and Office 2003, the plug was
pulled on MSN Messenger in its final market (China),
Facebook all but killed off its unsuccessful “Gifts” trial
Question: Which of the following have you done on your mobile phone in the past month? Sent an SMS / Sent an MMS
Base: Mobile Internet Users aged 16-64

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Question: Can you please tell us the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Base: 500 WhatsApp users in the UK, aged 16-64
to concentrate on a “Buy” button and Pantech put itself up for sale, having long struggled
to compete with fellow Korean tech giants LG and Samsung. We also saw BlackBerry re-
focusing its efforts on the business market, essentially conceding that its fight to win a decent
share of consumer sales was at an end.
But in the face of mobile messaging services gaining huge uptake, one of the biggest questions
of the year was whether the humble SMS/text message was going the same way as the CD or
video cassette. In short, would we soon be saying RIP SMS?
It’s certainly true that mobile behaviors – and requirements – have been evolving rapidly.
Gone are the days when minutes and text messages were a central, or particularly attractive,
part of a mobile package; with a wide range of services now offering consumers the chance to
make calls or send messages via the internet, companies have increasingly concentrated on
data allowances or handset quality.
That said, it’s important to recognize that text messaging hasn’t been rejected; more than
three quarters of mobile users said that they sent one last month and, overall, more people
are still communicating via text than they are via IM services. What is changing is the volume
of messages being sent via SMS or MMS. After fairly consistent rises since 2009, both
formats saw small declines in 2014; given that the size of the global smartphone population
continues to increase each quarter, this modest drop is pretty conspicuous – especially as
the growth rate had been slowing in several of the preceding quarters (in 2010 and 2011,
we were typically seeing a 10%-15% quarter-on-quarter growth in the numbers sending text
messages; by 2013, this has dropped to just 0%-5%).
The impact of messaging tools is pretty clear to see here: among those using such services,
just a quarter reported that they now prefer sending a text message instead of using an
instant messaging tool. The prospects for the MMS are even more troubled: only 16% of
mobile messagers think that sending photos and videos via MMS is better than via a chat app.

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Question: Which of the following mobile / tablet applications have you used in the past month? (on any device)
Base: Mobile internet users aged 16-64
Source: GlobalWebIndex Q2 2014
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