Wholesale News & Articles

Digital consumption of media, videos and audio, is becoming a staple of internet users' lives, according to a report from Ipsos Insight. The study found that 36 percent of U.S. internet users have watched a TV show or a streaming video online, up from 28 percent a year ago.

The Face of the Web survey reports that 75 percent of those who viewed video online had done so within thirty days of the study. Thirteen percent of consumers have downloaded a feature length movie. Digital music, which has been in the market longer, has even greater penetration. Worldwide, 51 percent of consumers have downloaded music or played streaming music, and 43 percent have downloaded a music file.

"In markets such as the U.S., where homes are saturated with televisions and DVD players, video content is a predominant part of consumers' daily lives," said Brian Cruikshank, EVP and Managing Director of Ipsos Insight's Technology & Communications practice. "Increasing penetration of broadband access and PC ownership globally signals that the PC will begin to really assert itself as a 'second screen' within the household," he said.

The online social networking trend is also gaining momentum. Worldwide, 20 percent of online adults had visited social networking sites within thirty days. South Korea has the highest usage of social networking sites, with 55 percent of the population visiting them. Next is Brazil with 41 percent; China at 27 percent; Mexico's urban consumers at 26 percent, and the U.S. at 24 percent.