Switzerland belongs to the mobile world elite

Media Use Index 2013: The study Media Use Index of the Y&R Group examines the media usage and information behavior of the Swiss population every year. In 2013, it was conducted for the fifth time. For the study, 2,000 people aged between 14 and 69 from German- and French-speaking Switzerland are surveyed online. The sample is representative.

Media usage: Mobile Internet usage rises to 74 percent, traditional media channels stagnate

The use of most media channels is stagnating. TV consumption is still at a high level, Internet via computer has become established among 86 percent of the Swiss, and free newspapers are constantly consumed by two-thirds of the Swiss. Radio, on the other hand, is losing ground in terms of usage, and daily newspapers are also being read less and less - at least as print editions.

As new media channels, the Internet via smartphone and tablet are experiencing a meteoric rise: 70 percent of the Swiss go online via smartphone in 2013 and 31 percent use their tablet for the Internet. Overall, 74 percent of the resident population thus already access the Internet via a mobile device. It is also worth noting that mobile Internet use is equally widespread among both sexes.

The mobile Internet is now firmly integrated into the everyday lives of the Swiss: 76 percent of smartphone owners use the Internet on a daily basis, and 69 percent of tablet owners do so - in each case, a third spend more than 1 hour a day online. Already 42 percent of digital natives say they are online more often with their smartphone than with a computer. This is also reflected in the importance of media. For the youngest generation, 4 of the top 5 are exclusively digital media channels.

If you compare media usage with advertisers' media spending, there is still a big discrepancy in Switzerland. According to bsw, just 2 percent of budgets flowed into mobile advertising in 2013, while only 15 percent is still invested in online advertising.

Mobile devices: 70 percent of the Swiss own a smartphone, 47 percent have a tablet in the household

In 2013, 70 percent of the Swiss already own a smartphone, and 31 percent personally own a tablet. Slightly more than a quarter of the Swiss (27 percent) already have both - a clear indication of prosperity. Broken down by generation, 79 percent of digital natives own a smartphone, 73 percent of digital immigrants do, and 52 percent of silver surfers already have one.

The tablet once again made significant gains last year. It is most popular among digital immigrants: penetration in this group is a high 37 percent. However, it has gained the most in the Silver Surfers group, with growth of 44 percent: today, a quarter of Silver Surfers own a tablet. Exactly the same number own a tablet among digital natives. For the youngest, however, the tablet is still a major investment. However, with new models becoming increasingly affordable, significant growth is also expected among them in the next 1 to 2 years. Overall, almost every second household now has a tablet (47 percent) - that's world class.

Operating systems: Switzerland is no longer an Apple country

Android draws level with iOS. This ends Apple's dominance in Switzerland, and the two operating systems now share the market equally. Looking at the global development, this trend is likely to continue and Android will soon gain the upper hand in Switzerland as well. The BrandAssetTM Valuator study by Y&R Group Switzerland provides a further indicator of this: among the younger generation, the previous cult brand Apple is clearly losing relevance and appreciation. With the gradual expiry of the 2-year contracts, a further push in the direction of Android is therefore to be expected.

Mobile activities: communicate, inform, entertain and socialize

The most frequent daily activities performed with the smartphone are writing messages, making phone calls, reading and writing e-mails, chatting and visiting social networks. The indexed comparison of the generations according to disproportionate use is particularly interesting: Digital natives use their smartphone primarily for entertainment, digital immigrants more frequently for information and organization, and silver surfers regard their smartphone more as a tool.

Viewed by dominant activities per device type, the smartphone proves to be primarily a communication tool, while the PC is a work tool. The tablet is a kind of compromise between the two: It is a complementary device that is primarily used for entertainment on the sofa and thus represents a luxury.

Mobile apps: The Swiss love apps and use them intensively. WhatsApp, Facebook and 20 Minuten are top

When it comes to the Swiss' favorite apps, the popularity of 20 Minuten among Swiss mobile brands stands out alongside the dominant chat and social apps WhatsApp and Facebook. This brand ranks among the top 5 most popular apps among both smartphone and tablet users.

Social media activities: Still in vogue thanks to high smartphone penetration and simple apps

Social media continues to be a big topic: Overall, 75 percent of respondents visit social networks, and 69 percent actively participate.
Every day, a third of the Swiss (34 percent) visit social media sites via their smartphone, 32 percent via PC and 20 percent via tablet. The Facebook app alone is used by 60 percent of respondents. Here, too, digital natives are more active than average in liking, sharing, following and posting.

The most important social media brands for the Swiss are YouTube (39 percent), ahead of Facebook (35 percent) and Google+ (20 percent). This is followed by the travel platform TripAdvisor (11 percent), the career portals Xing (8 percent) and LinkedIn (6 percent). The much-cited social media brands Twitter (6 percent) and Pinterest (3 percent) are still considered really important by few Swiss.

Crossmedia: Media brands are increasingly consumed on mobile - above all 20 Minuten

Digitization is being joined by mobilization: daily newspapers and free newspapers are being consumed less and less in print, but more and more frequently on mobile devices such as smartphones and/or tablets. Mobile access to 20 Minuten has increased so dramatically in the last two years that mobile readership has already overtaken online readership and is converging with print readership, which continues to decline. A similar development, albeit less pronounced, is emerging at Blick, while NZZ is stagnating or losing ground in all channels.

Parallel media use: TV is increasingly becoming a sideshow

An exciting development is emerging in parallel media use: While the TV is on, people are surfing on their tablets or smartphones on the sofa at the same time. Among digital natives, 50 percent are already surfing the web on their mobile devices while watching TV. Women are much more active here than men. Television is increasingly becoming a sideline activity and a sound wallpaper in the background. Cross-media campaigns that encourage viewers to interact via the second screen during (live) broadcasts are therefore making more and more sense.

eCommerce: Online shopping is growing steadily, across all sectors

Most Swiss people shop online at least occasionally: 88 percent by PC, 67 percent by tablet, 55 percent by smartphone. People are increasingly researching online and then buying directly online, especially for books and music. People research online but buy offline primarily for items with a higher level of involvement, such as watches, computers and consumer electronics. In the case of services, the willingness to buy online is usually even higher, especially for photo services, tickets and vacations, and increasingly also for financial services and insurance.

The most popular online stores (as in 2012) include Ricardo, SBB and Ticketcorner, but international online brands such as Amazon and Zalando are also very popular in Switzerland. Among digital natives, Zalando, Exlibris and Google Play are particularly in demand, LeShop, Digitec and Amazon are popular among digital immigrants, and silver surfers prefer to shop online at SBB, Swiss and Nespresso.

Top 10 online stores (purchased in the last 12 months)