THE PHILIPPINES
MOBILE INTERNET
YOUNG, AFFLUENT, AND GROWING
CROWD
FAST

Photo: Sivesh Kumar

This Philippines mobile trends
report combines data from a recent
survey of over 900 mobile internet
users (smartphone and feature
phone), and other publicly available
research.
Mobile internet users is a small but
fast growing group of people in a
country where 18 million Filipinos
live live on $1.25 a day or less.
The survey was conducted by On Device Research
in mid-June, 2014.
Source: Asian Development Bank 2013

Language preference of the
mobile internet users

40
% O

O N
Englis
h

O N

O

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014

OO
ON
O

60
Filipin
%
ON o
O
N

O
N

The Philippines 2014

g
w
O

Population

97 million
Internet penetration

39%

Netizens under 29 years

70%
Netizens on social media

96%

Mobile penetration

101%

Source: Nielsen, Tigercub Digital, US Census Bureau, World Bank

Smartphone penetration

15%

The Philippines has the lowest
smartphone penetration in
South-East Asia

Malaysia
80%
Thailand
49%
Source: Tigercub Digital, Oxford Business Group

15
%

]

]
]

expected to
reach 50% in 2015

Singapore
87%

Indonesia
23%

Smartphone penetration is growing
faster in the Philippines than
Indonesia and Vietnam combined

>
Source: Internatonal Data Corp 2014

+

Lower priced local brands are
expected to
drive smartphone
growth
]
Android smartphones from
the local “Big 3” are priced
in the $50-$250 range

]

]

O

Samsung rules, for now
Very compettve market, lots of different brands with low
market share making up almost a third of the Android phones
in use
43
%

Samsung
O ther

29%

Sony
CherryMobile

7%

Leno
vo

7%

LG
Alcatel
MyPhone

5%
3%

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
3%
n=900 Android users in the Philppines

Huawei has eyes on the Philippines
Huawei is aggressively targetng the smartphone market,
aiming to gain 10% market share by 2015.
In June 2014 it launched Ascend G6 at
half the price ($228) compared to the
previous model P6.
O ther Chinese brands like Oppo and
Xiaomi are likewise eyeing the country
for their Asian expansion.

Source: Tech in Asia, Philippine Star

28 million mobile phones sold in
2013

N

feature phones
smartphones

million

82
22.9
%

Source: Internatonal Data Corp 2014

million

O

18
5.1
%

78O

FILIPINO MOBILE
INTERNET USERS
Young, urban, affl uent
NB! Survey data on following slides represents
the average mobile internet user

More women go online with their
phones compared to South-East
Asia average

f

k

Average for South-East Asia
males

56%

Source: The Mobile Marketng Associaton

f

63%

44%

88% of the total
mobile internet
under the is
populationage of
34!

45
+
3%

]

35-4
4
9%
25-3
4
35%

16-2
4
53%

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

N

]
]

Mobile market is young and will
contnue to grow – it’s vital for
brands to target these young
mobile-first consumers.

Tablets more popular than laptops
Smartwatches, fitness trackers, and e-readers owned by very
few
Q. What consumer electronics do you own?

30
%

Tablet computer (e.g. iPad)

25
%

Laptop/netbook

23
%

Desktop computer

7
%

Smart TV
Smartwatch
Fitness tracker (e.g. Fitbit)
E-reader (e.g. Amazon Kindle)

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

3
%
2
%
2
%

38% of English speakers
own a laptop or netbook,
while only 16% of Filipino
speakers do

85% plan to purchase an electronic
device in the next six months
Q. Which of the following consumer electronics do you plan on purchasing in the next
six months?

Laptop/netbook

29
%

Smartphone
24%

Tablet computer (e.g. iPad)
Smart TV

22%

Desktop computer
Feature phone
15%

Smartwatch (e.g. Samsung
gear) Fitness tracker (e.g.

14%

Fitbit)
E-reader
Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

10%

Top mobile
the
carriers in
Philippines

54% share
46 million
subscribers

`

29% share
24.5 million
subscribers

Other service providers include Sun Cellular,
Talk’N Text, Touch Mobile, and ABS-CBN

Source: Zong

O
N

44% spend less than $12 a
month on mobile plan

Q. Approximately how much do you pay on average per month for your mobile plan?

$12 per
month

17%
15%

$41 per
month

12%

13%

11%
8%
2%
Less than P99

P100-P299

P300-P499

Note: 1 Philippine Peso equals 0.023 US Dollar

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

P500-P799

P800-P999

P1,000-P1,799 P1,800-P2,499

1
%

More than
P2,500

The Philippines has one of the
slowest L speeds worldwide
TE
Smart
Communications is the
5 th slowest network
among 38 surveyed with
4.43 Mbps
Globe Telecom is the
7 th slowest network with
6.46 Mbps
* Australian networks have the
fastest LTE with 24.5 Mbps
Source: Open Signal
Photo: EricOuano

2 out of 5 mobile internet users
are happy with their data speed

41
SATISFIED
%
NEUTRA
UNSATISFIED
34
L
25%
%
Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

^

Filipinos are drawn to unlimited
internet packages
Q. Select the level that is closest to your mobile internet
package

17
%
100MB

7
%
700MB

12
%
3GB

3
%
5GB

50
%

11
%
Unlimited

I don't have
internet access
through my
postpaid plan

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

=

40% of smartphone
owners in the
Philippines spend
over 5 hours a day on
their phone
Source: Global Web Index

94
%G
G
F
G
F
F
Source: Tech in Asia

of internet users in the
Philippines use Facebook

F
G
F
F
F

Only 54% in the US
do

42
%

of total screen time in
the Philippines is on
social media

Filipino social media users are
Pacific region spending
social channels
China: 1.5
hours/day

Source: Tencenet, Facebook, CNNIC, Statstc Brain

#1in the Asia

4 hours/ day
Indonesia: 2.9
hours/day

in all

80% use Facebook Messenger

Note that 2 n d and 3 rd most popular apps both offer free
internatonal calls
Q. Which chat apps do you use regularly (at least once a week)?

Facebook Messenger

27
%

Viber
Skype
Yaho
o
Mess
enger
Twitter
WeChat
Line
WhatsApp
Kakao Talk

17
%
16%
15
10 %
%
8%
9
%

Source: O n Device Research, June
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

27
%

82
%

Apps are extremely popular

32
%
45%

of Filipino smartphone owners
download six or more apps per
month

of these people
have paid for app installs
or in-app purchases each
month
Source: Jana 2014, Vserv 2013

78%

of mobile
internet users
downloaded an app or
game in the last month

52% have recently bought
something on their
Q. Which of the following have you purchased via a social messaging app within
phone
the
past
week?

b
29
%

Games
Music

19%

Videos
Stckers

11%

Calls worldwide

10%

Physical items
Gif cards

8%

Virtual gifts

4%
Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

In November 2013 Typhoon Haiyan
devastated the Philippines killing over
6,250 people and injuring another
28,650.

Disaster
warnings go
mobile
App developers and mobile operators stepped in to save
lives change the way people are warned about
Source: Wikipedia
natural disasters in the future.

Apps like
RaincheckPH and
iTyphoon alert users
of weather threats
However, only 16% of mobile
internet users have used one of
these typhoon warning apps.
What about the rest?

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

Mobile emergency alerts
are now required by law
In June 2014 the Philippines passed a law ordering all
mobile operators to send warnings to those in the path
of typhoons and other natural disasters.

Source: Dailyjournal, June 2014

T
yphoon relief gave mobile
cash usage a boost
Globe BanKO partnered with Mercy
Corps to help people receive mobile
cash transfers as only 27% of people
have bank accounts.
Nearly 22,000 households were
introduced to the service, receiving
much needed financial support to
recover from the disaster.
Source: GMA News, May 2014

The average population is quite different from the mobile internet
users…

73%
does

of the Filipino population
not have a bank account

Credit card penetration is only
Alternatve payment methods have
cropped up to cater the cardless
populaton.
Source: Tech in Asia, World Bank
Photo: Kevin Servigon

3%

Over half have used online payment
services in the last 3 months
Q. Which payment services have you used in the last 3
months?

12
%
11%

GCash
PayPal
Smart Money
PayCash by
Pesopay
BancNet

10%
8%
8%

O ther payment services

9%
Other payment
services Device Research, June 2014Pay,
include for example Dragon
Source: O n
Apptivate internet users in the Philippines
n=900 mobile and Bitcoin.

Ewallets from leading mobile
providers are the most popular
O Ewallets like Smart Money and
GCash allow users to pay bills,
reload airtme, and transfer
money to businesses and people
O Users load ewallets with
cash via in store transactons
O 22% use either Smart Money
from Smart Communicatons or
GCash from Globe Telecom
Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

Online cash payment platforms

• Cash payment processing services that allows
merchants to sell online and get paid in cash.
• Merchants can accept cash payments at more
than 5,000 outlets natonwide.

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

Over half are streaming music
Q. Which of the following music streaming services do you use regularly (at least once a
week)?

13
%

Spotfy
Spinnr

11%

My Pinoy Radio

10%
Soundcloud

8%

Radio Republic
Amplify
Other

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

6%
3%
8%

Spotify usage edged on by telco
tie-in
Globe Telecom offers its
GoSURF mobile data plan
subscribers free Spotfy
Premium access.
70% of people who said
they use Spotfy are on
GoSURF data plan.

Source: O n Device Research, June 2014
n=900 mobile internet users in the Philippines

Want Excel tables
with the survey
data?
Contact siim@ond
eviceresearch.com
On Device Research uses the
mobile internet to gain access to
consumer opinions at any time,
place or country.

Find out more:

ondeviceresearch.c
om
Siim T
eller
siim@ondeviceresearch.
com
@teller
+44 20 7278 6627

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