Selling Online Content: What sells ?

Selling online content? These stats will be of interest to you. Before deciding to develop and offer online content businesses may wish to use some of the following statistics.
A recent study of 755 internet users in the US revealed  65% of the respondents purchased online content (just one percent less than those who report purchasing tangibles and reservations online)
Top ten online content sales were:

• 33% digital music online
  
• 33%  software
  
• 21% apps for cell phones or tablet computers
  
• 19%  digital games
  
• 18% digital newspaper, magazine, or journal articles or reports
  
• 16% videos, movies, or TV shows
  
• 15%  ringtones
  
• 12% digital photos
  
• 11%  members-only premium content from a website that has other free material on it
  
• 10%  e-books

Between 28 October and 1 November 2010, respondents were asked about 15 different kinds of online material that could be purchased or accessed after a payment.  The online content assessed in this survey was“intangible” digital products such as software, articles, and music that need not have a physical form rather than “tangible” products such as clothes, CDs, books, or computers or tangible services such as hotel reservations or airline tickets.
Nearly half (46%) of internet purchasers had bought only one or two of the types of content covered in the survey while 16% had purchased six or more types of content.

How much is the typical user willing to pay?

At first glance it appears the average monthly expenditure per user for content was approximately $47 per month for downloaded or accessed material, including both subscriptions (an average of $12 per month) and individual file access (an average of $22 per month). However this statistic is skewed by the purchases of some extremely high-end users. In reality, most purchasers spend about $10 per month.

Preferred methods for accessing online content purchases

The majority of the internet users surveyed paid for subscription services (23%) rather than downloading individual files (16%), or accessing streaming content (8%).

Who purchases what online?

The Pew Internet study found little gender or racial difference between online purchasers (except for software-which had more male purchasers). The majority of purchases were made by:people aged 30-49, people with college education or higher,and those in income brackets over $50K. Amongst 18-29 year olds, the most popular purchase was music, 50 to 64 - software. Podcasts and eBooks were mostly purchased by 30 to 49 year-olds, and those with college education or higher. Surprisingly those on the lowest and highest income brackets were almost tied for eBook and podcast purchases. Premium or members-only content on a website, was more likely to be purchased by those in the $75K income bracket.

Who does not purchase online content?

Are any of these in your target audience? Of the 35% who did not report buying online content, the majority had only high school or less education and were in the under $35K income bracket. Also those over age 50 made up a large percentage of those not purchasing online content. Non-Caucasians outranked whites by 7% in the makeup of those not purchasing online content.
Although this study reflects US online buying habits (66% of whom have home broadband connections), similar results may be found in other countries. If you know of a similar study, please leave a confidential comment with the link below.
Statistics and information from Pew Internet & American Life Project,  Jim Jansen – “65% of internet users have paid for online content” Dec.30th, 2010 http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Paying-for-Content.aspx  Accessed Dec.30th 2010