Consumer Spending To Increase Thanks To More Internet Access

A recent report released by PwC has found that better internet access is highly likely to increase consumer spend than any other media product or service within the next half decade, Bizcommunity notes. The report focused on the media industry in South Africa, which is expected to see its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) increase by 10.2% between this year and 2018.

According to the report, entitled ‘South African Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2014-2018 (‘The Outlook’)’, the internet is expected to account for the largest proportion of this, with combined revenues from internet advertising and internet access expected to reach approximately ZAR71.6 billion (£3.93 billion) – or 37.6% of revenues.

The report itself is the fifth edition from PwC and looks at 12 different entertainment and media segments in the region. By using data from 2009-2013, the report is able to accurately predict what the industry will look like up to 2018. The sectors included in the report are: TV, film, internet, radio, recorded music, newspaper publishing, consumer book publishing, B2B publishing, video games and sports, among others.

The next fastest areas of growth will be in video games and radio, expected to witness growth rates of 9% and 8.2% respectively. Mobile gaming has helped drive the popularity of video games up, meaning this experienced the fastest transition into digital.

The entertainment and media industries leader for PwC, Vicki Myburgh, stated that growth in the country is “largely being driven by the internet and by consumers’ love of new technology, in particular mobile technology, such as smartphones and tablets.”