78% of Uruguay’s population uses the Internet: that’s 2,580,000 people of all ages and from all regions. In three years, the number of smartphone users increased 13-fold, rising from 120,000 in 2012 to nearly 1.6 million in 2015.
The data comes from the 12th edition of the Uruguayan Internet User Profile, a survey conducted by Grupo Radar that was presented on Wednesday, November 18, 2015, in the Pocitos Campus Auditorium.
The report, conducted in August, combined two complementary methods for the first time: a face-to-face survey of 1,700 respondents nationwide and an online survey of 3,223 respondents. Both surveys included individuals aged 12 and older.
Alain Mizrahi, director of Grupo Radar and professor of marketing at the university, presented the findings and explained that the gaps in Internet access and usage are narrowing across both socioeconomic and age groups. The study shows that Internet penetration continues to grow and become more widespread in Uruguay, and that there is a marked trend toward mobile experiences.
As a result, Internet penetration in low-income households doubled over a three-year period, rising from 30% to 62%. On the other hand, the largest increase in Internet use occurred among people aged 65 and older: while 9% were online in 2008, that figure rose to 45% in 2015. Meanwhile, 34% of children aged 0 to 5, and 94% of those aged 6 to 11, are Internet users.
In this regard, Antel Vice President Daniel Fuentes, who spoke at the start of the conference, noted that Internet use continues to “level the playing field” in a context where “the dissemination of knowledge and access to information continue to permeate society.”
Internet Devices and Uses
According to the data presented by Mizrahi, mobile connections have seen the most explosive growth: the number of Internet users accessing the web via cell phones rose from 210,000 to nearly 1.6 million in just five years.
Another variable showing the greatest increase is the number of hours per week that Internet users spend online. “Currently in Uruguay, some 600,000 people use the Internet for an average of 35 hours per week, and the increase is occurring across all segments of the population and all age groups,” Mizrahi noted, adding that, on average, each user was online for 14.3 hours per week in 2015—three times more than in 2008.
When it comes to Internet usage, searching for information about brands, products, and services has the highest growth rate, reaching 71% of users. Searching for information on topics of interest became the most frequently cited use (89%), surpassing Facebook and other social media platforms (85%), while reading news on websites or social media continues to grow and ranks fourth (6%).
Social Media and E-commerce
According to the study, social media platforms are showing steady growth: Facebook reached 2,100,000 users and Twitter reached 440,000. Regarding their use, the survey concludes that people are using them less and less to write about their personal lives, and more to write and share humorous and/or philosophical comments about life or current events, share links and news, or discuss political and social issues.
WhatsApp, which had only a marginal presence in 2013, is now used by 71% of Internet users for chatting. As for entertainment, there are 210,000 Netflix users in Uruguay; however, YouTube remains the preferred platform for watching movies online for 59% of users.
Regarding e-commerce, the study found that 62% of Uruguayan internet users have made an online purchase at some point. These experiences include Mercado Libre, discount sites, other Uruguayan websites, international websites, and bill payments via online banking.
Fiber Optics and Digital Transformation
Another interesting fact is the growing popularity of fiber-optic internet: currently, 40% of households use fiber-optic internet, while 46% use ADSL and 19% use mobile internet.
Héctor Bajac, president of the Uruguayan Chamber of Advertisers and professor of marketing at Universidad ORT Uruguay, also spoke at the conference, emphasizing the importance of digital transformation in relation to corporate investment. “Companies are still not meeting the needs of the digital consumer; we must bridge the gap between what consumers expect from a company and what they actually experience. If we don’t undergo digital transformation, our brands will become irrelevant,” he concluded.
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