GlobalWebIndex (GWI) has just released its latest survey on the use of mobile messaging apps. It revealed that from 2013 to 2014, there was an increase on the number of messaging users in Indonesia, which reached 45%. Interestingly, 50% of the biggest three messaging apps’ users actively shop online. Without any doubt, this will surely draw e-commerce players’ attention.
In advance, the significant increase was rooted from the shift of online public communication trend. Even though social media still enjoys huge popularity, the public nowadays tend to be a passive reader instead of actively using it. Now, people prefer to have private chats with others rather than letting their secrets out. That’s why messaging apps are the current trend of public communication.
According to the survey, there are three main reasons behind the increasing messaging apps’ popularity. First, 45% of respondents regard the apps as free-to-have equipment. Second, they’re way faster than SMS in term of sending or replying messages. And third, hey, all their friends have the same apps, so why don’t they?
“Mobile messaging apps have been a new hit particularly among the younger generation, because the less people using social networking, the more they use messaging services to communicate,” said Jason Mander, GWI’s Head of Trends.
The data by GWI suggests that 86% of Indonesian internet users possess at least one unit of smartphone. 46% of them, or half of them, even claimed that it’s better for them to forget their wallets rather than leaving their smartphones.
There are so many things that people can do with their mobile phones, most of them are related to communication. Although still paid a visit to their social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and Youtube, most of them only act as silent readers.
They preferred to have their interaction on mobile phones.
During the third quarter of 2014, GWI found out that 78% of internet users in Indonesia surf the internet from their mobile devices.
When it comes to the question which app gets the most popularity in Indonesia, then WhatsApp would top the list. The platform gets used by 28% of Indonesians, followed by WeChat (18%), Skype (18%), and Line (16%). Interestingly, BlackBerry Messenger, which was once popular, is out of the competition.
WeChat became the app with the biggest users growth in 2013-2014 with 895%, while WhatsApp (113%) and Facebook Messenger (112%) followed in the second and third place respectively.
WeChat is the most popular app use by users aged 16 to 24 y.o, while Facebook Messenger gets used mostly by users aged 25 to 34 y.o. WhatsApp is used mostly by users aged 35 to 44 y.o.
The research also measured the level of users’ activeness in shopping online, and WeChat’s users came first with 62% of them actively shop online. Facebook was ranked second (60%), and WhatsApp (55%) came in the third place.
