- 28% of Filipinos in National Urban Philippines have accessed the Internet in the past month. 5% access the Internet everyday.
- Filipino internet users are likely to be below 29 years old, single and are better educated.
- Internet use is not restricted just to the big cities like Metro Manila. Other cities are experiencing internet growth. For example, 35% of Filipinos in Cagayan de Oro have accessed the internet in the past month.
- Filipino Internet users are more likely to be opinion leaders and early adopters compared to traditional media consumers. They are likely to be individualistic, trend conscious, willing to pay for quality products and are tech-enthusiasts.
- Internet usage is particularly higher amongst the younger segments. 50% of those below 20 years old have accessed the internet in the past month
- Internet Cafes are an important internet access point. 71% have accessed the internet from internet cafes in the past 3 months. 47% of all internet time are spent in internet cafes. Internet cafes are also a dominant access point fo ruser from the lower socio-economic classes.
- Email, Instant messaging and Search are the most common online activities for Filipino internet users. Yahoo! is the dominant web-based email, instant messaging and search service in the Philippines.
- Social networking is a key online activity. 51% claimed to have visited a social networking site in the past month. 1 in 3 Filipino internet users have a blog. Friendster is the leading social network in the Philippines.
Online Activities
- Used email (63%)
- Used instant messengers (63%)
- Used search (58%)
- Played games online (53%)
- Visited a social networking site (51%)
- Read blogs (42%)
- Down-/uploaded digital photos on photo sharing sites (33%)
- Worked on personal blog (32%)
- Listened to internet radio (28%)
- Down-/uploaded music files online (25%)
- Reads news online on internal portals or other news sites (24%)
- Internet SMS (23%)
- Conducted online banking transactions (3%)
- Purchased products online (3%)
This means that only 8.5 million of the 94 million Filipinos have internet subscriptions. Or lets just say roughly 15 Million to be safe. The bottom line is that there is still around 75-80 million Pinoys that will be in computer shops to check their facebook accounts, play games, do homeworks, check emails, read blogs, etc. Hey I think it is still a big market! The potential of your success in setting up an Internet cafe business is huge!
But be careful. The
market is so huge that it is easy to fall into the pitfalls of failure.
I used to think that it is as simple as buying computers and opening
your I-cafe to users. It is better to prepare and see if this business fits you. Here are some of the first things to think about:
1. Target Market. Knowing your market helps you decide on what services
to offer. They can be school children, high school or college students, girls, boys, office
workers, parents? Each market has specific needs. For example, male
students use the internet for research, but they also play online games.
2. Location. Good location captures a bigger market. If you target students, being near the schools is ideal. But ask from your city/town hall on local laws about this. Otherwise, a place where your market has easy access to you has an advantage.
3. Services you can offer. The Internet is not for surfing the net alone. Most I-cafe owners say online gaming makes up 70% of their businesses. The other 30% comes from surfing, chatting and emailing. How about scanning, printing, typing, CD/DVD burning services?
4. ISP and Equipments. Will it be SMART Bro, PLDT MyDSL, Globe Broadband may depend on what is available in your area. Better check what are the current services they offer so you can plan ahead. The equipments of course depends largely on the scale of your target market plus the other services you want to offer. If you want to offer photocopying, hence you will need a copier which will add to you initial investments.
That's it. Hope this article help you get started. God Bless.
Source: http://www.technobiography.com/stats-facts/study-on-urban-philippines-internet-users-by-yahoo-nielsen/