credit: Photo by Duncan Meyer on Unsplash
More than 21 million Australians used a news website or app in August, representing 96% of online users nationwide, according to data from Ipsos iris.
The figures show 21.3 million Australians aged 14 and over accessed news content online during August, spending around 4.78 hours daily consuming news. This represents a slight increase from July's figures.
Australian news stories driving online engagement included the manhunt for Victorian man Dezi Freeman, who allegedly shot two police officers, the Mount Waverley murders involving a pregnant woman and her partner, Australia's expulsion of the Iranian ambassador, the 2025 Logies and AFL Black Monday coverage.
Global news interest focused on the Trump-Putin summit meeting in Alaska, updates on the war in Ukraine, an urgent broccoli recall in Italy after one death and nine hospitalisations, and coverage of a man snatching Polish tennis star Kamil Majchrzak's match-worn hat from a young fan.
The research identified a key advertising market on food and delivery platforms, with more than 15 million Australians using these services each month. Women aged 14–24 are 17% more likely to use these apps compared to men in the same age group. Australians 40+ are the demographic least likely to use these platforms.
There has been a rise in Australians searching for jobs and homes (+5.4%), and travel (2.4%) compared to July.
The categories with the biggest year-on year increase: Energy/Utilities, up 7.6%, automotive and career, up 7.5%, events & attractions, up 5.2%.
Ipsos iris data showed 22.127 million Australians aged 14 and over used the internet in August, spending an average of 4.78 hours per day online. The most consumed categories were social networking and search engines (both 22.05 million), online media (22.01 million), technology (21.9 million) and retail and commerce (21.8 million).
Ipsos iris operates as Australia's digital audience measurement system endorsed by IAB Australia, providing data about online content consumption across smartphone, computer and tablet devices.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.