Acast has released a new consumer research study: Podcasting Trends in Established vs. Emerging Markets. The field work (conducted by consumer research company Attest) surveyed 2,600 weekly podcast listeners across 13 established and emerging markets.
Established markets include USA, UK, Sweden, Canada and Australia while emerging markets include India, Brazil, Singapore, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, Netherlands and Spain.
In both emerging and established markets, podcast listeners invest significant amounts of time in the medium, with 44 percent in the emerging markets spending more than six hours a week on podcasts.
Time spent with podcasts is poised to continue growing, especially in emerging markets with 51 percent listeners expecting to spend more time on the medium over the next six months.
Podcasts deliver valuable levels of consumer engagement, with 80 percent of listeners in emerging markets saying they are highly engaged while consuming podcasts, compared to 60 percent for radio.
Daily podcast listeners in emerging markets are already more likely than those in established markets to have made a purchase because of a podcast ad, indicating big ad spend growth potential in emerging markets as consumption rises.
The study also indicates that as podcasting grows in emerging markets, expect the medium to move beyond relaxation and to be used more often while commuting and doing daily tasks.
In emerging markets, more than half of listeners are so connected to their favourite hosts that they say they feel like their friends.
YouTube is also the platform that listeners in emerging markets most commonly use to listen to podcasts. Consumer that have watched a video podcast before are significantly more likely than those who have not to say that their favourite podcasters feel like their friends, suggesting that engaging listeners in multiple ways – audio, video and social fosters a deeper connection between podcaster and consumer.
As podcasting grows in emerging markets, expect word of mouth promotion to greatly increase, with social media platforms and YouTube being key discovery tools globally.
Co-listening to podcasts is more common in emerging markets than in established markets, with the 25-44 age group most likely to listen to podcasts as many parents are listening to podcasts with their kids.
In emerging markets, podcast listeners desire more content from their favourite podcasters, with 49 percent listeners ready to consider paying for additional content from them.