A recent survey has revealed that Australians are among the least likely to take out their wallets to pay for online services, with 91 per cent of respondents happy to keep their cash unspent. 73 per cent is the worldwide average, so we definitely occupy the higher end of the stingy bracket.
Smartphone apps also felt the wrath of our frugality — only 40 per cent were keen to pay, down from 75 per cent in 2010.
The statistics, collected from 9600 participants aged between 16 and 65, are from a worldwide survey conducted last year by auditing firm KPMG. The Australian, reporting on the results, also picked up on the fact that a mere 36 per cent of us engaged in mobile banking over the last year and a half, with the paper citing “a preference for other channels and security/privacy concerns” as the reasons for this behaviour.
With many online services, such as Google Docs, providing high-quality tools at no cost, it’s understandable that we’ve become accustomed to this being the norm. Now that sites are, more and more, looking to monetise their offerings, trying to have all your needs met by free brigade is not always practical.
There’s also been a massive shift to “freemium”, a trend that’s prevalent in the App Store, with free-to-download apps offering their content as separate, low-cost modules so you only pay for what you want.
Are there any online services you pay for, either because they’ve become integral to your workflow or no free offerings exist that match the quality? I know if you’re not one for setting up your own collaboration site or issue tracker, sites such as Basecamp are indispensable.
Aussies reluctant to pay for web content [The Australian]
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