INTERNET users in the Philippines upped their average time online to 10 hours and two minutes, up from nine hours and 29 minutes last year. This inched them past Thailand to become the country that spends the most amount of time online, the Digital 2019 report by Hootsuite and We Are Social said.
The new reigning champions of time spent online also maintained their global lead in time spent on social media by spending an average of four hours and 12 minutes on social platforms, a substantial leap from the global average of two hours and 16 minutes.
With such strong internet usage, businesses in the Philippines can’t afford to miss the opportunity that digital and social represent , with 70 percent of internet users in the country spending money on e-commerce platforms.
Mobile internet proved to be a popular method of accessing the internet in the Philippines. Users there spent four hours and 58 minutes on mobile internet, the second highest globally, behind Thailand. A healthy 57 percent of internet users also spent on e-commerce platforms and mobile banking usage reached 54 percent, both higher than the global averages of 55 and 41 percent, respectively.
Roger Graham, Hootsuite head of Asia, said: “Asia is one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for Internet and mobile usage, and with that comes a huge appetite for technological adoption, foreign investment and digital innovation. Brands and companies are recognizing this opportunity and demonstrating a strong sense of urgency to integrate digital and social media into their business. We have been rapidly expanding our teams and partnerships across the region to meet this demand as we are focused on helping our customers unlock the value of social media through technology, strategy and training.” (PR)