Younger Australians aged between 14 and 24 are driving the increase in health website and app audiences, up 8.2% compared to February 2024, according to Ipsos iris data for March.
Four in five of the health apps used by this age group were fitness related, including the Sweat Coin app (274,000 online users), Flo Period and Ovulation Tracker app (258,000), Samsung Health app (154,000), Strava app (154,000) and Google Fit app (153,000).
Overall, use of health websites and apps rose 1.7% to almost 18.3 million Australians on the month prior and the time spent on health news jumped by 28.4% over the same period.
More than 20.7 million people used a news website or app in March, reaching 96.6% of online Australians aged 14+.
The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during March 2024 by online audience size.
A total of 21.5 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in March and spent on average 4.3 hours per day, or almost 134 hours in the month, online.
Sports was the fastest growing category, up 11.2% in March compared to February 2024. It was followed by automotive (up 1.9%) and health (up 1.7%). The average time per person spent on the sports category rose by 29.8%, reflecting the beginning of the AFL, NRL and Super Rugby seasons.
Lifestyle websites and apps also saw a significant increase in average time spent per person online for the month, growing by 11.4%.
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 (21.1 million) and entertainment (21 million).
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.