Dive Brief:
- Use of smartphones and the Internet has jumped from 2013 to 2015 in 21 of the world’s emerging economies, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center.
- Those using the Internet or owning a smartphone went from a median of 45% in 2013 to 54% in 2015, with large emerging economies leading adoption.
- The biggest increases in smartphone ownership came from Turkey (+42 points), Malaysia (+34), Chile (+26) and Brazil (+26).
Dive Insight:
Emerging markets such as Brazil, China, and Malaysia are catching up to developed countries like the United States, Japan, and Australia in terms of Internet use and smartphone ownership, according to a Pew Research Center study. In 2013, a median of 45% of those surveyed in 21 emerging and developing countries reported using the Internet “at least occasionally” or owning a smartphone; in 2015, the figure rose to 54%.
Smartphone ownership grew fast in the emerging countries, going from a median of 21% in 2013 to 37% in 2015. With 87% owning smartphones in the 11 advanced economies surveyed and 56% in the emerging markets, the “digital divide” fell to about 31 points in 2015. South Korea maintains the highest rate of smartphone ownership (88%), while Uganda and Ethiopia have the lowest (4%).
Wealth is a factor, of course, with smartphone ownership and Internet use alike showing a direct correlation to household income worldwide. But regardless of a country’s per capita, millennials almost everywhere were more likely to use the Internet or own a smartphone than older consumers. In many developing nations, men are more likely than women to use the Internet.
Once people get Internet access, they use it a lot, Pew says; a majority of respondents with access reported using it several times per day around the world. And the social media seem to be the gateway: Wherever Internet use has room to grow, the study says, social networks tend to be more popular. While just 71% of people in the U.S. say they use social networks, the numbers are higher in Africa (76%), Latin America (82%) and the Middle East (86%).
Retailers selling smartphones and those seeking international customers via web and mobile should be cheered that their markets still have plenty of room to grow. And marketers looking to tap into emerging markets from the outset should start by establishing a presence on the prominent social networks in those markets.