Mobile Internet use on the rise and becoming more diverse

According to the study, mobile Internet consumption via smartphones and other mobile devices continues to increase. Around 70 percent of users in the DACH region go online with their smartphones. Internet-enabled televisions and wearables are becoming increasingly relevant.

Mobile Internet usage: WhatsApp beats e-mail

The most popular devices for Internet use remain desktop or laptop computers (D: 89 percent, A: 88 percent, CH: 86 percent). Mobile online usage in Germany increased by six percentage points year-on-year to 69 percent. In Austria and Switzerland, mobile usage remains at an already high level of 72 percent in both countries (2015: 70 percent).

Instant messaging is one of the most popular applications on cell phones: In all three markets, more people already communicate daily via WhatsApp and similar services than via e-mail, with a share of 33 percent in Germany, 40 percent in Austria and 42 percent in Switzerland (D: 26 percent, A: 35 percent, CH: 39 percent).

One of the most attractive interaction options via smartphone from a brand's perspective is offering location-based coupons: The Swiss show the highest interest in this (CH: 61 percent very interested or interested, A: 55 percent; D: 52 percent).

Social media are important communication platforms for brands, especially in Austria: More than half of respondents (A: 52 percent) use social networks to find out about products, while 47 percent in Switzerland and 41 percent in Germany still do so.

Shopping becomes more mobile

The fact that the Internet is not only suitable as a source of product information, but that customers are also "picked up" directly to make purchases, is shown by the focus on e-/m-commerce in the DACH media usage study. The proportion of people who make at least one purchase per month via PC remains consistently high (D: 69 percent, A: 60 percent, CH 69 percent; 2015: 68/62/54). With growth of 28 percent, digital shopping via PC in Switzerland is showing strong growth.

In Switzerland and Austria in particular, mobile shopping is also on the rise. With 36 percent of monthly m-commerce customers, Switzerland not only has the highest mobile share in 2016 (D: 29 percent, A: 31 percent), but also the highest growth rate of 27 percent increase over the previous year (D: +2 percent, A: +23 percent).

Number of Internet-enabled devices continues to rise

On average, around one-third of respondents from the DACH region use a tablet for Internet access (D: 33 percent, A: 35 percent, CH 44 percent). Significant growth can be seen in smart TVs in all three countries (D: 25 percent, A: 20 percent, CH 23 percent; 2015: 19/16/18). On average, this corresponds to an increase of almost 30 percent.

Compared to the previous year, however, wearables are on the rise the most. In particular, the penetration of fitness trackers has increased (D: 10 percent, A: 9 percent, CH 10 percent; 2015: 5/6/9). However, providers of smartwatches and fitness trackers or even data glasses need to highlight the benefits of the devices more clearly. Consumers are not sufficiently aware of the benefits of such devices. The spread of connected household appliances (keyword: smart home) or cars (connected car) is on a par with wearables.

Increased video consumption via smartphone

Demand for music videos, video clips and video podcasts is similarly strong in all three markets, with values between 51 and 54 percent. However, major differences between the countries become apparent in the more detailed analysis of moving image content when comparing the different end devices: In Switzerland and Germany, for example, longer formats such as those from media libraries are also used in almost equal proportions on desktop/laptop (D: 28 percent, CH: 31 percent) and on smartphone (D: 22 percent, CH: 29 percent). In Austria, on the other hand, usage on cell phones (9 percent) is not even half as high as on larger screens (22 percent). In Austria, on the other hand, short videos on social media platforms are viewed significantly more often via mobile than in the other two markets.

Roger Baur, Managing Director IAB Switzerland, on the study "The new media usage study on the DACH region is a very good view for us of user behavior in the three countries. As we can see from the study, we are still a growing e-commerce country and this also confirms our assessment of the market. The development in mobile usage is also pleasing for us, and we also see here that users are consuming moving image content very strongly."

Lilian Meyer-Janzek, Managing Director of IAB Austria: "Mobile and moving images are the biggest growth drivers of online spending. The third edition of the media usage study for Germany, Austria and Switzerland confirms this development and shows advertisers which devices and content are particularly good for reaching users. We are also tracking new trends and see particular growth in wearables and online usage via smart TV."

Matthias Wahl, President of the German Digital Industry Association (BVDW): "The current media usage study confirms daily experiences in digital marketing. Mobile Internet usage is already at a high level, and still rising strongly. Above all, however, moving image usage is developing rapidly. This refers less to the content itself, but primarily to the device used and the changing usage situation."

To the DACH Media Usage Study 2016

The research agency d.core in Munich surveyed a total of 3004 Internet users in Germany (1000), Austria (1009) and Switzerland (995) for the third joint study by the BVDW, iab austria and IAB Switzerland between May 18 and June 2, 2016. The sample was selected online-representatively by age and gender from Internet users aged 16 to 69. Sociodemographics, general media use, Internet use in particular, e- and m-commerce behavior, and brand reception were queried. In addition, interest in wearables and related applications was also investigated. The detailed results can be viewed and exported via a paid dashboard.