Arcep and Arcom published, on April 11, the third edition of their common repository of digital uses of the French population. The report notably reports on the most downloaded applications in the country in 2022. For the first time, the two authorities also shared how the French consume their favorite programs on their connected televisions.
The French consume more and more videos on the internet
In the report (pdf) conducted by the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (CREDOC), Arcep and Arcom report that more than nine out of ten French people use the internet. A stagnating figure between 2021 and 2022. The population aged 12 and over has not changed its daily use of the internet either in 2022. More than 82% of French people go on the internet every day, 7% one to two times a week and only 3% go there rarely.
Incoming traffic to major internet service providers has increased. At the end of 2021, more than 35.6 Tbits per second were used, the equivalent of 17,500 hours of high definition video. Speaking of video, Netflix is the largest bandwidth customer with over 19% of traffic. Behind the streaming site is Google with 11 and Akamai, an American company that specializes in caching content to make software and sites run faster, with 8%.
Breakdown by origin of traffic to customers of the main ISPs in France (end of 2021). Graphics: Arcep/Arcom.
Ever more e-commerce users
Regarding online commerce, the two authorities still note, after the strong increase during the health crisis, growth over the whole of last year. 84% of the French population has used the internet to buy goods online. This is an increase of 2 points compared to 2020, and especially 13 points compared to 2019. In 2022, almost half of e-commerce consumers purchased at least one product per month.
Proportion of the population having used the internet to purchase goods online. Graphics: Arcep/Arcom.
The French are abandoning traditional telephone calls ?
The number of applications for communicating is increasing week by week. By moving from Instagram to Facetime, this trend is changing the behavior of the French. 79% of the population over the age of 12 say they use apps to send messages, including 52%, daily. This is an increase of 9 points compared to 2021.
As for calls, 69% of people call with applications, including 30% every day. The report indicates that the biggest increase comes from the over 40s.
The most downloaded applications in 2022 remain social networks. Among them WhatsApp and TikTok rise to first and second place respectively. The TousAntiCovid application, first in 2021, logically disappears from the ranking. Note the entry into the top 10 of Telegram, Lidl Plus, Waze and CapCut, an application from TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.
Top of the most downloaded apps in France in 2021 and 2022. Image : Arcep/Arcom.
French television consumption
Connected devices abound in the homes of the French and in particular connected televisions. For the first time, Arcom and Arcep reveal the way in which the French consume their programs on this type of television.
More than 90% of the population watches traditional, so-called linear, television on a connected device. 86% of internet users make massive use of television internet access to watch replay programs on on-demand platforms. It should be noted that more than 14% of Internet users continue to use their televisions daily to consult data on USB keys and hard drives. Very popular in the 2000s, this archaic trend should continue to fade with the proliferation of streaming sites.