Google’s Gmail has overtaken Microsoft’s Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com as Australia’s most-used email service, according to Roy Morgan Research.
Roy Morgan found that 7,427,000 Australians 14+ (37.9 per cent) used Gmail in an average four weeks in the 12 months to March this year, for the first time exceeding Microsoft, with 7,362,000 emailing via a Microsoft account (37.6 per cent).
Roy Morgan figures show that Gmail has claimed over 3.5 million new Australian users since 2012, almost doubling its user base, while Hotmail/Live/Outlook.com has gained 1.1 million more active users over the period, with the bulk of growth in the year following the early-2013 transition to Outlook.com, after which the number of users has remained fairly steady.
Telstra’s BigPond email comes in at third position, with 2,912,000 Australians (14.9 per cent) visiting the site in an average four weeks, down from 3,394,000 in 2012.
Having lost some emailers in the 12 months to March 2013, Yahoo!7 Mail has since regained an average of close to 100,000 emailers annually, now having 2,156,000 users (11 per cent).
Roy Morgan found that 14,330,000 Australians 14+ (73 per cent) now use one or more of these email services.
“Free email accounts are mostly advertising-supported,” Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine commented. “The fine print of signing up is that email content is analysed by automated systems.
“Many of us have experienced seeing search results or digital advertising that reflect something we’d mentioned in a recent email.
“Although nearly 70 per cent of Australians say they’re worried about invasion of privacy through new technologies, we use free email services knowing that our emails will be ‘read’ and advertising will be customised and tailored.”