Dubai: Can’t wait around for a new movie to be released on DVD or broadcast on cable TV? Then press the download button on your PC or mobile.
In fact, UAE’s content consumers are doing just that, in turn emerging as the “fastest purchasers” of movies and TV shows, according to a new survey by the payment services company PayPal. On average, they make their purchase within five days of their release, “as the availability of sites such as Netflix feed the desire to keep up to date with the latest international releases.”
In fact, 40 per cent of respondents said they went for a downloaded version because they don’t want to wait for the physical copy. And 28 per cent preferred to make an instant purchase as soon as it was available online, with another 26 per cent saying they would place the order within the day.
“We know that the UAE has incredibly high smartphone penetration, which affects how residents consume digital media,” said Kivanc Onan, regional senior director, PayPal Middle East and North Africa. “We also know there is a high incidence of cross-border purchasing in the UAE, with customers often choosing to purchase from the US and China.”
According to the PayPal ‘Digital Goods’ survey, movies and TV shows are the most popular for purchases in the UAE, with 70 per cent of respondents having made a purchase in the last three months. Music was the second most popular, with just over 50 per cent purchased a download or music streaming service.
Streaming platforms are also gaining more air-time, with Hindi language web music service Saavn polling as the third most popular platform after Google Play Music and Apple iTunes. While it “only holds 9 per cent of preference, it provides a catalogue that is mostly unavailable on other platforms, creating opportunities for merchants to provide niche services,” the PayPal statement adds.
“Our research insights help merchants of all sizes better understand how consumers are spending their time and money with digital goods, enabling them to cater to this growing audience,” said Onan.
When it comes to reading. 77 per cent of e-book consumers chose non-dedicated devices, “instead preferring to read on their smartphones”.
“This is by far the highest of all other countries surveyed — Russia, the second-highest market for using smartphones to consume e-books had just over 50 per cent,” the report adds.
