Cyber café users are experienced Internet users with 64% using the Net for the last two years, according to an IMRB survey titled Internet Usage and Habits of Cyber Café Users. The survey has been conducted across 41 cities.
More than 80% of the visitors to cyber cafes are from SEC (socio-economic category) A — 53% and SEC B — 29%, so the cyber café clientele is affluent. Education levels are also high, with 60% users being graduates or above.
Playing games appears to be a popular activity at cyber cafes, with 51% of user activity being accorded to playing games at the cafes, compared to only 32% at home. In the remaining activity time, online shopping, banking, purchase of financial investment products and searching for products — primarily consumer durables — are the popular pursuits.
Comfort levels with online transactions are high at cyber cafes with 51% comfortable with online shopping and 45% comfortable with online banking. A good 59% of cyber café users have bought financial products. Of the 50% of cyber café users who search for products, all search for consumer durables.
Surprisingly, 53% of cyber café users own a desktop PC at home and 79% of users who have Internet at home, have a broadband connection. So why would they be interested in visiting cyber cafes? “It is possible that users are able to avail of high speed connections at cheap rates, have convenience and privacy, and can gets prints and scans easily. Besides, cyber cafes are youth hubs,” said Balendu Shrivastava, group business director, e-Tech Group, IMRB International.
{{/usCountry}}Surprisingly, 53% of cyber café users own a desktop PC at home and 79% of users who have Internet at home, have a broadband connection. So why would they be interested in visiting cyber cafes? “It is possible that users are able to avail of high speed connections at cheap rates, have convenience and privacy, and can gets prints and scans easily. Besides, cyber cafes are youth hubs,” said Balendu Shrivastava, group business director, e-Tech Group, IMRB International.
{{/usCountry}}On why cyber cafes are generating so much consumer research interest, Shrivastava said, “Cyber cafes have consistently been the largest source for Internet access for India and as per the last Icube study, Internet growth is coming from small towns where cyber cafes are the primary source of access. So, obviously, it is encouraging to see data on cafe users by a credible authority.”
On the effectiveness of advertising, 53% of the respondents in the survey felt that advertising creates an impulse to purchase products.