A total of 3 million Dutch people made daily calls over WhatsApp in the fourth quarter, according to the latest Dutch Apps Market report by Telecompaper. The figure was boosted by coronavirus-related lockdowns, with people spending more time on their smartphones and on calls. In addition to 3 million daily users, WhatsApp calls were used by 3 million at least once per week and by 2 million at least once a month.
The choice for WhatsApp for calls is logical, since almost all Dutch people - young and old - have the app installed on their smartphones. The penetration of WhatsApp in the Netherlands was no less than 95 percent in the fourth quarter, with the proportion going to 96 percent for young people (16-24) and 94 percent for over-65s. On average, the Dutch used the calling function 11 days per month in the quarter. This makes WhatsApp the most used app for over-the-top (OT) voice in the Netherlands.
Apps used more intensively
The coronavirus pandemic has also led to people using the communication apps more. The average number of weekly minutes spent on WhatsApp call increased to 25 in Q4 2020 from 21 minutes a year earlier. The same trend is visible for other communication apps such as Facetime, Google Hangouts and Viber. All three were used an average of 8 minutes more per week in Q4 than before the virus outbreak.
"The outbreak of the coronavirus has pushed the Dutch to accelerate their embrace of OTT services for voice and video calls. In the business field, the Dutch quickly became accustomed to video calls with colleagues via Teams and Zoom. Dutch people are also increasingly communicating with each other privately via a video connection on a smartphone app, whereas before the coronavirus crisis, this was mainly reserved for contacts in other countries, via a tablet or computer," said Tim Wijkman, Telecompaper research analyst and author of the report. "The longer the crisis lasts, the more Dutch people will become accustomed to using these OTT apps on their smartphones. After the crisis ends, the Dutch will likely continue to use these apps more for calling, rather than just messaging."
App installations little changed
Despite the increase in the use of communication apps during the pandemic, the installed base of communication apps has changed little. Only FaceTime, iMessage and Skype have seen the number of installs increase, by 2 percentage points. The installed base of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are unchanged, probably due to the already high number, at 95 percent for WhatsApp and 58 percent for Facebook Messenger.
The report is based on the Telecompaper Consumer Insights panel survey, conducted in Q4 among more than 5,000 respondents aged 16-80. Results are stratified by age, gender and education. For more information on the report or panel, please contact research@telecompaper.com.
