Singapore

The average internet user in Singapore spent 10.5 hours viewing video in April 2010, consuming 130 videos for a period of 4.9 minutes per video on average. The demographic composition of online video viewers revealed that users age 15-24 were the most engaged demographic segment, averaging 192 videos per viewer during the month and consuming more than 15 hours of video content. People age 55 and older also showed heavy engagement with online video, averaging 12 hours of consumption and 155 videos per viewer in April. Although users age 25-44 represented the highest%age of unique video viewers, they spend less time viewing video and watch fewer videos per viewer than the younger and older age segments.

In April, internet users in Singapore watched nearly 320 million videos, with Google Sites ranking as the top video property with 204 million videos, representing 63.8% of all videos viewed online. YouTube.com accounted for more than 99% of all videos viewed at the Google property. Facebook.com ranked second with 10.2 million videos viewed (3.2% market share), followed closely by Tudou Sites with 4.5 million videos (1.4% market share).

In Singapore, 2.5 million unique viewers watched an average of 130 videos per viewer during the month. Google Sites attracted the largest video audience with 2.1 million viewers during the month (99 videos per viewer), followed by Facebook.com with more than 1 million viewers (9.7 videos per viewer) and Microsoft Sites with 403, 000 viewers (6.7 videos per viewer).

(comScore, June 2010)

There were 3,370,000 internet users in Singapore (representing 72.4% of the population) in December 2009, according to Internet World Stats. This was up by 180.8% since 2000. (Internet World Stats, April 2010)

Searches and Search Engines

Experian Hitwise revealed the top search engines sites in Singapore for the 24 weeks ending May 22 2010, ranked by volume of searches.

Top search engines for the industry "All Categories" in Singapore, for the 24 weeks ending May 22 2010 by volume of searches:
1. www.google.com.sg: 66.33%
2. www.google.com: 15.58%
3. sg.search.yahoo.com: 11.14%
4. www.bing.com: 2.24%
5. search.yahoo.com: 2.21%
(Experian Hitwise, May 2010)
 

Social Networking and UGC

Facebook (www.facebook.com) is the main driver behind the massive year-on-year increase of the Hitwise category 'Computers and Internet - Social Networking and Forums' and it's meteoric rise has now installed it as the most popular website in Singapore ahead of Google as in October 2009.

The social networking craze however cannot be attributed solely to Facebook with a number of social networking websites coming from near obscurity a year ago, now commanding significant amounts of traffic themselves (when comparing October 2008 and 2009). Looking at the Social Networking and Forums category, these include: 4th ranked Twitter and 10th ranked Tumblr, increasing their respective year-on-year market share by over 11 times and 5th ranked Plurk up 600% compared to last year. (Hitwise Singapore Newsletter - November 2009, November 2009)

Facebook was the top website in the category "Computers and Internet - Social Networking and Forums" for the week ending 26/09/09 in Singapore, according to Hitwise. This category contains websites which facilitate online communication and networking via profile pages. This can include sites where users are linked through regional/social groups or specific interests, as well as more general online networks. This category also features forums. 

All sites "Computers and Internet - Social Networking and Forums", weekly rankings for the week ending 26/09/2009, ranks by visits:
1. Facebook
2. YouTube
3. Singapore HardwareZone Community
4. Twitter
5. Plurk
6. LiveJournal
7. Tudou.com
8. Friendster
9. Tumblr
10. Tagged

12.9% of traffic to this category was directed at domestic sites.  (Hitwise Singapore Newsletter - September 2009, September 2009)

More than 2.5 million people in Singapore age 15 and older accessed the Internet in February 2009 from home and work locations, consuming an average of 1,785 pages of content and accessing the Internet an average of 21 hours per person, according to comScore. comScore indicates that Singapore is one of the most advanced digital markets in the Asia-Pacific region and represents a growing opportunity for digital marketers. The combination of high broadband penetration, heavy online engagement and the overall tech savvy of Internet users in Singapore make it an ideal market for the adoption of valuable existing and emerging digital technologies, including search, social media and online video.

Online communication, entertainment, and social networking topped the list of how users were most likely to spend their time online in February 2009. Highlighting the particular significance of online communication in Singapore, Instant Messaging captured 24% of total minutes, making it the leading activity, while Web-based email accounted for 6%.

Social networking sites made an appearance in the ranking and Facebook and Friendster ranked as two of the most visited online properties in February 2009.

Top internet properties in Singapore, based on unique visitors in February 2009 (Total Singapore internet audience - Age 15+, Home & work locations):
- Total internet: 2,523,000 unique visitors (100% reach)
- Google Sites: 2,009,000 (79.6%)
- Microsoft Sites: 1,929,000 (76.5%)
- Yahoo! Sites: 1,757,000 (69.7%)
- Facebook.com: 1,128,000 (44.7%)
- Wikimedia Foundation Sites: 848,000 (33.6%)
- Friendster.com: 838,000 (33.2%)
- CBS Interactive: 529,000 (21.0%)
- Apple Inc.: 515,000 (20.4%)
- Ask Network: 510,000 (20.2%)
- WordPress: 475,000 (18.8%)
(comScore, March 2009)

Experian Hitwise revealed the most popular travel websites in Singapore for the week ending June 19 2010 in the categories Agencies; Destinations and Accommodation and Airlines.

Top Agencies websites in Singapore for the week ending June 19 2010 by % of visits:
1. Gullivers Travel Associates (rbs.gta-travel.com): 8.24% (previously ranked 3^rd)
2. ZUJI Singapore (www.zuji.com): 7.69% (2^nd)
3. Yahoo! Singapore Travel (sg.travel.yahoo.com): 6.44% (4^th)

Top Destinations and Accommodation websites in Singapore for the week ending June 19 2010 by % of visits:
1. TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com): 7.14% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. Agoda.com (www.agoda.com): 4.29% (2^nd)
3. Resorts World Sentosa (www.rwsentosa.com): 3.21% (3^rd)

Top Airlines websites in Singapore for the week ending June 19 2010 by % of visits:
1. Tiger Airways (www.tigerairways.com): 21.72% (previously ranked 1^st)
2. Jetstar Airways (www.jetstar.com): 18.31% (2^nd)
3. Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com): 14.69% (3^rd)

(tnooz - talking travel tech, June 2010)

Experian Hitwise revealed the most popular travel websites in Singapore for the week ending June 5 2010 in the categories Agencies; Destinations and Accommodation and Airlines.

Top Agencies websites in Singapore for the week ending June 5 2010 by % of visits:
1. Yahoo! Singapore Travel (sg.travel.yahoo.com): 8.68%
2. ZUJI Singapore (www.zuji.com): 8.09%
3. Gullivers Travel Associates (rbs.gta-travel.com): 7.93%

Top Destinations and Accommodation websites in Singapore for the week ending June 5 2010 by % of visits:
1. TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com): 7.52%
2. Agoda.com (www.agoda.com): 4.52%
3. Resorts World Sentosa (www.rwsentosa.com): 3.24%

Top Airlines websites in Singapore for the week ending June 5 2010 by % of visits:
1. Tiger Airways (www.tigerairways.com): 22.08%
2. Jetstar Airways (www.jetstar.com): 17.65%
3. Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com): 14.71%

(tnooz - talking travel tech, June 2010)

Nearly 1.2 million people in Singapore (or more than 40% of the country's online population) visited a travel site in January 2010, according to a comScore study on visitation to online travel sites in Singapore. This marks an all-time high for the travel category and represents a 44% increase compared to the previous year.

A demographic analysis of visitors to travel sites revealed that 25-44 year olds account for 53.5% of visitors to these destinations, with visitors age 45-54 composing 19.5% and 15-24 year olds accounting for 17.5% of traffic. This demographic breakdown suggests, perhaps unsurprisingly, that many visitors to travel sites are working professionals who utilize these sites for business travel, on a global, regional and local basis. Females accounted for a slightly larger proportion of visitors to travel sites, representing 51.9% of visitors compared to 48.1% males.

Demographic composition of visitors to travel sites in Singapore in January 2010 (Total Singapore Age 15+ - Home/Work locations*):
- 15-24: 17.5%
- 25-34: 25.7%
- 35-44: 27.8%
- 45-54: 19.5%
- 55+: 9.6%

- Males: 48.1%
- Females: 51.9%

*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

comScore indicates that in January 2010, 3 out of 5 travel category visitors browsed 2 or more sites in the category, which suggests that consumers are being very diligent in comparing prices prior to purchase. Consumers are clearly being more cost-conscious these days, which is creating a more competitive environment among online travel agents and suppliers as they vie for consumer loyalty and share of wallet.

The study also shows that each of the top 10 most-visited travel destinations posted double or triple-digit gains. Online mapping and travel guide site Streetdirectory was the most visited travel destination with 475,000 unique visitors (up 33% from the previous year). Nearly half of the top 10 positions were occupied by regional and local airline brands, including Tiger Airways with 197,000 visitors in January (+99%), Qantas Airlines with 166,000 visitors (+122%), Singapore Airlines with 145,000 visitors (+29%) and AirAsia.com with 137,000 visitors (+132%).

Most visited travel sites by unique visitors in Singapore, January 2010 (TOTAL Singapore Age 15+ - Home/Work location):
TOTAL INTERNET: TOTAL AUDIENCE: 2,800,000 (+12% compared to January 2009)
TRAVEL CATEGORY: 1,155,000 (+44%)
1. Streetdirectory: 475,000 (+33%)
2. Tiger Airlines: 197,000 (+99%)
3. Qantas Airlines: 166,000 (+122%)
4. Expedia Inc.: 159,000 (+100%)
5. Singapore Airlines: 145,000 (+29%)
6. AIRASIA.COM: 137,000 (+132%)
7. Priceline.com Inc.: 112,000 (+167%)
8. SBSTRANSIT.COM.SG: 101,000 (+22%)
9. ASIATRAVEL.COM: 88,000 (+204%) 
10. TravelAdNetwork: 83,000 (+26%)
(comScore, March 2010)

The Hitwise Singapore Online Performance Awards acknowledge excellence in online performance, by recognising the most visited websites in Singapore, across a range of industries. It is based on the internet usage of approximately 1.5 million Singaporeans visiting over 9,700 Singaporean websites throughout 2008.

The winners in the travel industry were:
- Agencies: www.zuji.com
- Destinations and Accommodation: www.visitsingapore.com
- Maps: www.streetdirectory.com
- Transport: www.singaporeair.com
(Hitwise, April 2009)