"Internet surfing more disciplined in India now," reveals study

Microsoft Advertising, MEC and Mindshare have released a study entitled 'Living with the Internet -- What is Driving Web Behaviour', designed to understand the nature of time spent online across the world. The study is intended to gain better insights on consumers' web behaviour and help marketers and brands make the best use of the same.

 

Commenting on the study, R Gowthaman, leader, Mindshare, South Asia said, "This is our honest and humble attempt to bring some method to the madness. Internet is now one of the basic utilities like electricity, gas etc., and it needs to be looked on the back of popular culture we are getting into."

 

"MEC introduced the concept of Paid, Owned and Earned media last year and the interplay amongst the three types of media is most significant in the digital world. The digital world today, is an amalgamation of multiple digital touch points, often simultaneously. For holistic campaigns, brands need to activate all aspects of digital to engage the multitasking consumer," added Shubha George, chief operating officer, MEC South Asia.

 

An infographic on the findings:

 

 

The study was undertaken across 11 countries, including Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the US, and focused on 7,000 participants, in the age group of 16-54 years. In India, responses were received from 700 participants living in the metros.

 

The study finds that 72 per cent time spent online by Indians is planned and spontaneous. This trend is consistent globally, as worldwide more than 79 per cent of respondents said that they had planned their activity on the Internet in advance so that they could stay more focused and do more in less time. Japan tops the list in the proportion of planned visits at 89 per cent, and China at 76 per cent.

 

The study finds that more than 60% of users who log on to the Internet for entertainment content are multi-tasking. While presenting the case study to the media, Alok Sinha, leader, invention, Mindshare South Asia said, "Brands will have to create bookmarks on people's minds. If brands are not consistent, chances are that they will get lost."

 

The study also finds that while search engines continue to be the gateway to the virtual world, social media behaviour also influences Internet usage behaviour. The study further reveals that it is the 16-24 year olds who make most use of the Internet as an entertainment source  to watch and to download video clips, TV shows online (both short and long form), to listen to music online and to download music and online gaming.

 

The study also identified certain moods associated with the different motivations for using the Internet, pointing to agencies and brands, the kind of content or communication that might engage better in that particular mode of access. 

 

The study shows that in India, the use of smart phones at 34% are surpassing notebooks which stands at 33% as the main method for accessing information. Except for information seeking and content creation, however, notebooks remain the main device used for transactions and entertainment.

 

Neville Taraporewalla, director, Microsoft Advertising, Microsoft India added, "The rapidly changing dynamics of Internet usage in India offer a fresh set of opportunities and challenges for advertisers. The study clearly underscores that as the Internet grows to a scale and size, consumers are adopting a time-efficient, planned and deliberate approach towards Internet usage, which in turn implies that marketers will have to work harder to reach the consumer on the go."