Audiences for fuel price comparison sites surged in March 2026 as the Middle East conflict escalated, with Petrol Spy Australia growing 126% month-on-month to reach 5.2 million Australians, up from 2.3 million in February, according to Ipsos iris data.
NSW Fuel Check's audience rose 75.6% to 1.58 million, with users nearly doubling their time on the site to 22.4 minutes per person.
Fuel retailer brands also grew, with Ampol up 54%, United Petroleum up 30% and 7-Eleven up 10%.
Interest in electric vehicles also lifted, with automotive manufacturing brands focused on hybrid and full-battery EVs rising 22% month-on-month, gaining 431,000 new users.
More than 21.5 million Australians used a news website or app in March, reaching 95.3% of online Australians aged 14 and over.
Time spent consuming news rose to 3.58 hours per month from 3.12 hours in February, as audiences sought updates on petrol stations running out of fuel, government consideration of fuel caps, Victoria offering free public transport and the release of oil reserves.
Other trending stories included the South Australian election, Cyclone Narelle in Western Australia, flooding in Queensland, the Kyle and Jackie O split and the Australian Grand Prix.
ABC News led the online news rankings in March with 13.16 million unique audiences, followed by news.com.au (12.11 million) and nine.com.au (10.5 million).
The career category led year-on-year growth at 3.8%, followed by homes and property at 3.2%.
News site rankings for March 2026:
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