eMarketer, in collaboration with Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG), has released an annual “Global Media Intelligence (GMI) Report” on key digital trends worldwide. Speaking on the collaboration, eMarketer President Lisa Church said, “Media usage by channel, and by demographic, in key markets around the world is of concern to thousands of eMarketer clients. We’re pleased to work with SMG to uniquely provide them this invaluable resource as they prepare for 2016.”
A key point that stands out in the research is that the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is among the fastest-growing and largest mobile markets.
“The 2015 Global Media Intelligence Report shows that mobile continues to penetrate the global market, with 61.1% of the global population using mobile phones in 2015. That number is expected to increase to 67.1% by 2019. As mobile usage increases globally, so does the need for data and precision marketing to fuel advertisers’ ability to get closer to the point of purchase through e- and m-commerce,” said Kate Sirkin, Executive Vice President & Global Director, Audience and Measurement, SMG.
eMarketer estimated that just over 606 million people in the Middle East and Africa will have at least one mobile phone this year, and the total will pass 789 million in 2019.
The report also analysed that the MEA region suffered setbacks in the past year due to civil unrest, escalating violence, political instability and medical crises afflicted the region. However, smartphone usage in many Middle Eastern markets jumped again in 2014. According to Ipsos MediaCT, 79% of Saudi Arabia’s entire population used an advanced handset last year; in UAE the corresponding figure was 91%, a gain of nearly 20 percentage points in a single year. In Kuwait, penetration rose from 49% to 86% in just two years, Ipsos reported.
Smartphone usage in the Middle East and Africa is climbing more rapidly than eMarketer projected a year ago and now it estimates that the smartphone population in MEA will pass 106 million this year. On the other hand, fewer than 18% of mobile phone users in the region will have such a device. In 2019, that share is expected to reach 22.0%, as the number of residents with a smartphone approaches 174 million.
