A new study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that 65% of Internet users have paid to download or access online content ranging from articles, to music to apps and more.
According to the survey:
- 33% of internet users have paid for digital music online
- 33% have paid for software
- 21% have paid for apps for their cell phones or tablet computers
- 19% have paid for digital games
- 18% have paid for digital newspaper, magazine, or journal articles or reports
- 16% have paid for videos, movies, or TV shows
- 15% have paid for ringtones
- 12% have paid for digital photos
- 11% have paid for members-only premium content from a website that has other free material on it
- 10% have paid for e-books
- 7% have paid for podcasts
- 5% have paid for tools or materials to use in video or computer games
- 5% have paid for “cheats or codes” to help them in video games
- 5% have paid to access particular websites such as online dating sites or services
- 2% have paid for adult content
Online marketing consultants should consider these statistics when crafting their website marketing strategy.
The study found that the typical Internet user pays about $10 per month. For sites that incorporate paid content into their web marketing solutions, they’ll likely see high-end spenders purchasing much more than $10 per month, according to the survey.