Ecommerce, email low but communication‚ social networking and information drive increasing Internet penetration in SA: study

The South African Internet user population passed the 20-million mark for the first time last year‚ reaching 21 million‚ and is expected to grow to at least 22.5 million in 2017.

Based on Stats SA’s estimate that the South African population reached 55.9-million people in June 2016‚ the companies said this means that the country will reach the 40 percent Internet penetration mark this year.

“Finally reaching the point where we can say every second adult South African is connected to the Internet is a major landmark‚ because Internet access is becoming synonymous with economic access‚” Reshaad Sha‚ Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Director of DFA‚ said in a statement.

This contrasts with a report last year by the ITU‚ the UN specialised agency for information and communication technology (ICT)‚ which found that almost 75% of people in Africa are "non-users".

The agency said: "By the end of 2016‚ more than half of the world's population – 3.9 billion people – will not yet be using the Internet. While almost one billion households in the world now have Internet access (of which 230 million are in China‚ 60 million in India and 20 million in the world's 48 Least Developed Countries)‚ figures for household access reveal the extent of the digital divide‚ with 84% of households connected in Europe‚ compared with 15.4% in the African region."

To illustrate the surge of Internet penetration in South Africa‚ however‚ a previous PWC Southern Africa report quantified the number of Internet users in South Africa at 8.9 million in 2011‚ which was nearly twice the 4.6 million total in 2008. This growth had principally been driven by a surge in the number of mobile broadband users‚ which jumped to 5.8 million in 2011 from only 600‚000 in 2008‚ PwC said.

More than half of the world’s web traffic now comes from mobile phones‚ according to a January 2017 report‚ the Digital in 2017 Global Overview report from We Are Social and Hootsuite.

It also stated: "Mobile social media use in Africa increased by nearly 50% in 2016‚ although at just 12% penetration across the region‚ there’s still plenty more room to grow."

The Internet Access in South Africa 2017 report‚ released today‚ reveals that the single most common use of the Internet among South African adults is:

- communication‚ reported by almost a third (31%) of respondents‚ followed by

- social networking (24.9%) and

- information (23.7%)‚ both reported by almost a quarter of respondents.

- Only then comes entertainment at 22.1%.

The report includes data from the Target Group Index (TGI) survey conducted by Ask Afrika‚ a market research organisation.

The question on primary uses of the Internet was answered by a sample representing 4.1 million South African adults across all income and education levels.

While communication is the single most important use‚ email is reported by only 16 percent of respondents‚ "indicating that it is becoming a less important element of the communications mix as social media becomes a default channel"‚ the report said.

Shopping and finance is cited by only 15 percent of respondents‚ confirming previous World Wide Worx research that showed e-commerce was still not a major element of South African retail in general.

“The findings emphasise the potential of the Internet to enhance lives when we have greater penetration across all segments and demographics‚” said Arthur Goldstuck‚ managing director of World Wide Worx. “Over time‚ we will see higher proportions of people engaging in a wider range of activity‚ but the barriers to more active use will first have to come down.”

Sha added: “A country’s capacity to connect its economy to the Internet and to make these services available and accessible to its citizens and businesses is key to its success in the digital age."