As the cost of living crisis looms large, it was politics, tax cuts, wars and storms that drove consumption of Australia’s news websites and apps in February, according to today’s Ipsos iris data.
More than 20.6 million people used a news website or app in February, reaching 96.3 per cent of online Australians aged 14+.
Key political news events, such as Barnaby Joyce’s fitness to remain in politics after his ‘fall’ from grace, the stage three tax cuts redesign, the prospect of interest rate cuts, and former Prime Minister
Scott Morrison’s final day in politics drove that consumption. Other news stories, such as the ongoing wars in Gaza and the Ukraine, the Victorian storms, the murders of Luke Davies and Jessie Baird and missing mother Samantha Murphy, the Grammy Awards and the NFL Superbowl, also received strong interest.
The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during February 2024 by online audience size.
Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia, showed the most consumed website and app categories in February were search engines (21.3 million), social networking (21.3 million), technology (21.3 million), retail and commerce (21 million) and entertainment (20.9 million).
Among category insights, more than 13.8 million people aged 14+ used a career website or app in February. While this was on par with January, the time spent on careers sites and apps increased significantly compared to January, up +14.9 per cent per person.
People aged 25-39 are driving the increase, spending 1.3 hours per month on career websites and apps.
The chart below shows the Career brands’ ranking during February 2024 by online audience size.
Energy supplier/utilities was the fastest-growing category in February, rising by 5.2 per cent compared to January as Australians sought out deals on providers. The events and attractions category rose by 2.4 per cent, with the music events sub-category jumping 68 per cent compared to the previous month as Taylor Swift interest spiked again.
In addition, as children returned to schools and young people to universities, the average time spent online in the Education category increased by 15.5 per cent. Overall, 21.499 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in February and spent an average of 4.4 hours a day online, or 112 hours for the month.
Ipsos Iris, which officially launched in March 2023, provides accurate data about the 21 million Australians aged 14+ who access a wide variety of digital content and services on smartphones, PCs/laptops, and tablets.
