Millennials, online shoppers push Kenya’s internet usage

Millennials boost Kenya's internet usage

Increased internet usage by millennials and online shoppers has pushed the number of Kenyans trooping online daily to 72 per cent, a new survey shows.

More than half (53 per cent) of Kenyans aged 16 and above are now online, up from 49 per cent in 2016, says the Google backed survey conducted by Research Group Kantar TNS and dubbed Connected Consumer Kenya 2017 Study.

The study shows that 17 per cent of connected Kenyans shop online, a huge leap from 3 per cent in 2014, but minimal in comparison to global online shoppers who stand at 59 per cent.

Visiting social networks tops the list of activities that Kenyans engage in online, followed by using search engines, watching online videos, accessing e-mails and looking for product information.

“Going online is a daily habit with 72 per cent of Kenyans saying they access the internet on a daily basis. Globally, daily access is at 87 per cent. Even those aged 55 and above use the internet frequently with 65 per cent reporting that they access the internet daily,” says the survey.

This ranks Kenya among the top African countries with high internet usage, falling behind South Africa and Nigeria where internet usage stands at 65 and 63 per cent, respectively.

The study says that 12 million Kenyans access internet for private purposes with those aged between 35-44 years topping the online demographic at 31 per cent, followed by 25-34 years at 26 per cent, 45-54 years at 17 per cent, 55 years and above at 15 per cent and 16-19 years on bottom position at 11 per cent.

Majority of Kenyans consume the internet through mobile phones at 59 per cent almost doubling the global rate of mobile usage to access the internet which is 30 per cent.

Causing disruption

However, the study says that many online users assess their own digital skills as fair or poor despite the strong use of the internet.

“Despite the strong use and high importance of the internet, many online users still assess their own digital skills as fair or poor. However, digital skills are increasingly becoming a key success factor in business and private life. The share of inexperienced users shows the high demand for digital training in Kenya,” said Google Africa’s Public Relations Head Dorothy Ooko, during the launch of the survey.

The survey notes that devices that Kenyans are using to connect online are steadily changing over time. The study says 43 per cent of Kenyans use smartphones, a significant growth from 27 per cent in 2014.

Laptop usage is at a minimal 21 per cent though it has tripled from seven per cent in 2014. The study says that with more people trooping online, video consumption behavior is changing significantly.

TV usage is still huge, but the advent of new technologies such as Smart TVs and wearables is causing disruption. The study notes that that the traditional TV screen is often surrounded by other connected devices luring people to go online as they watch TV.

It refers to this as screen stacking. And 30 per cent of Kenyan online say that they use TV as the only device to consume video with the rest accessing videos both online and on TV.

Online video consumption is over 60 per cent. Digital TV is consumed by 20 per cent people online. “The ecosystem of connected devices is growing, offering people more and exciting opportunities to enjoy video content across devices and platforms,” says the study.

The study says that the growth of connected devices can only grow higher as technology advances. In Kenya, it says, the number of connected devices per person is at 1.1 which is a growth from 0.9 last year.

Globally, the number of connected devices per person is at 2.9. Kenyans have also become more aware of digital assistants with 25 per cent saying they are aware of the gadgets. Six per cent already use digital assistant products, with the 16-24 years demographic topping the usage at ten per cent.

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