New Research Data Suggests non-English Speaking Internet Users Deserve More Attention From Brands

Brands are failing to capitalise on the vast spending power of non-English language Internet consumers, according to digital media company, Populis, which today released new research data on worldwide Internet use and the size and potential of the global Internet population.

Populis commissioned economics consultancy, Cebr, to assess current levels of consumer Internet spend. The research shows how non-English speakers already make up the vast majority (84%) of global Internet users and collectively spend far more than English-speakers. Key findings included:

• 1.7 billion of the 2 billion global Internet users are non-English speaking
• Non-English speaking consumers spent GBP225 billion online in 2010, or 60.8% of global online retail sales
• GBP80 billion more than English speakers
• Internet usage rates in English-speaking countries are close to saturation with 73% of consumers online, compared to just 24% in non-English speaking countries
• The average non-English spends an average of GBP132 per year compared to GBP457 per year for English-speakers

Rob Harbron Cebr Economist said: “Our analysis shows that non-English speaking consumers already accounts for the majority of online spend and as Internet penetration rates rise and disposable income growth outpaces the west, they will become even more important to the online community.”

Yet, advertisers have tended to concentrate online marketing and advertising on English language speakers, as Luca Ascani, Co-Founder and Chairman, Populis, explains: “Historically, advertisers wanting to run online campaigns across multiple non-English language markets have faced a fragmented media environment, making consumers in these countries difficult and expensive to reach. But today we’re seeing the emergence of high quality multi-lingual online publishing networks that offer advertisers a single point of contact and a scalable way to reach the largest group of Internet consumers.”

Populis is a European leader in the production of multilingual vertical content online. It crowdsources, distributes and monetizes over 35,000 items of content in eight languages each month for a vibrant network of fully owned and operated blogs, websites and web portals. Brands can advertise across the network via a wide range of premium and highly-customisable social advertising solutions such as social ads, videoseeding or product reviews.

Earlier this month, the company completed its EUR8.2 million acquisition of mokono [http://www.mokono.com ], one of Europe’s leading blog communities. Mokono’s localised blog networks across 13 European countries and Canada include over 700,000 registered blogs, adding 14 million unique monthly users to Populis’s substantial network of online media properties.

Ascani continues, “The Internet gives brands the chance to reach vast new markets but until now, supporting moves into new markets with online advertising has been a logistical nightmare for brands. This is no longer the case and we believe a greater focus on strategies for tapping into the non-English markets will lead to fast and sustained growth for brands.”

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