New year, new you: Aussies’ January health resolutions drive surge in health and fitness-related content – Ipsos iris data

20.9 million people use a news website or app in January, up 3.1 per cent year-on-year

24 February 2025 – More than 18 million Australians turned to a health-related website or app in January 2025, as they doubled down on their “get healthy” New Year’s resolutions, the latest Ipsos iris data has revealed.

In a sign that Aussies are steadfast in using the new year to spur their health efforts, the number of people using a health-related website or app jumped by 4.3% in January 2025 to 18.4 million, compared to December 2024, the data revealed.

Australians also spent more time consuming health-related content in January. On average, users notched up 68 minutes per month viewing health-related content – an increase of 20.9% compared to December 2024.

According to the Ipsos iris data, the biggest growth came in the fitness and exercise sub-category, with an additional 768,000 Aussies (7.9%) using a fitness or exercise-related website or app in January, compared to December 2024, as they ramped up their post-Christmas exercise regimes.

Women aged 14 to 54 were most likely to turn to fitness and exercise-related websites and apps for inspiration and information. Women aged 40 to 54 spent the most time using these websites and apps, averaging almost two hours per month, while women over 40 were more likely to access nutrition and diet-related websites and apps.

Nearly 8.8 million Australians used a health-related app in January 2025. The chart below shows the health-related category apps’ ranking during this period by online audience size.

Major news events such as the Australian Open, Donald Trump and the California wildfires fuel audiences in News category

Major local and global news events during January 2025, including the Australian Open, the Australia vs. India cricket test, the California wildfires and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, continued to attract strong reader interest in news websites and apps.

The Australia vs. India cricket test, particularly the controversies surrounding the tech-led Decision Review System, missing hiker Hadi Nazari and his incredible rescue after 13 days lost in Kosciuszko National Park, Australian Open coverage including celebrity appearances, player controversies and match results, Australia Day celebrations, the Triple J Hottest 100 results and the season start of Married at First Sight sparked local news interest, while global events such as the war in Ukraine, the devastating California wildfires, Donald Trump’s second inauguration, the mid-air plane crash in Washington DC and the mysterious virus outbreak in China, garnered reader interest in online news.

More than 20.9 million people used a news website or app in January, reaching 97.5% of online Australians aged 14+. The news audience online increased by 1.1% from December 2024 and 3.1% for the same time last year.

Australians spent more than five hours per month in January consuming news content online.

The chart below shows the News brands’ ranking during January 2025 by online audience size.

New Year job seekers boost Career category audience in January

Ipsos iris reported significant growth month-on-month in the career category, with audience numbers up 5.9% compared to December 2024 and 7.6% year-on year. The data reflects the general trend of people looking for a new job at the start of the year.

The homes and property category also grew in January 2025 (up 5.9%), along with the games category, which increased by 3%, in-line with the school holiday period.

Interestingly, retail audiences held steady throughout January, with numbers on par with November and December 2024 figures – often the busiest time for shoppers. The data shows the resilience of ecommerce in the Australian market and the shift towards greater pre-purchase planning, with cost-of-living pressures driving shoppers to research and shop around online for deals.

The largest year on year audience growth was recorded by the automotive category (up 10%), games (up 8.8%), energy suppliers/utilities (up 8.4%), and homes and property (up 7%).

More than 21 million Australians used the internet in January

Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia, showed that 21.5 million Australians aged 14+ used the internet in January and spent on average 4.8 hours per day, or almost 148 hours for the month, online. The figure was up 4.3% on December 2024 data.

The most consumed website and app categories in January were social networking (21.4 million), search (21.4 million), technology (21.3 million), retail (21.2 million) and entertainment (21.1 million).

Ipsos iris, which officially launched in March 2023, provides accurate data about the 21.5 million Australians aged 14+ who access a wide variety of digital content and services across smartphone, PC/laptop and tablet devices.

Notes for editors:

• Ipsos iris is an independent source of truth for the media industry providing a level playing field for comparison of audience reach and characteristics and supporting the $15.6 billion Australian online advertising market (Source; IAB Australia Internet Advertising Revenue Report prepared by PWC FY24)
• Ipsos iris provides accuracy in solving cross-device deduplication, the biggest challenge in measuring online audiences, using a single-source multi-device panel measuring activity on 8,000 smartphone, PC, laptop and tablet devices
• Ipsos iris provides accurate data about the number of people who visit the content of digital publishers and platforms, along with the frequency of visits and time spent by tracking digital audience behaviour across desktop/laptop, smartphone, and tablets.  It uses a hybrid methodology that combines metered data from a high quality, nationally representative, single-source passive panel with site-centric census measurement via media owner tagging.
• In February 2024, the CTV audience currency integration from a data partnership with OzTAM launched, providing total unduplicated digital audience currency data for BVOD across CTV, smartphones, tablets, and computers.
• In August 2024, enriched YouTube audience reach and watch time data for Connected TV across mobile, desktop and tablets was integrated into Ipsos iris, in collaboration with Google and IAB Australia.
• Ipsos iris is fully privacy compliant and cross-media ready and will continue to evolve with a roadmap of enhancements over 2024 and beyond. It will also be adaptable to changing requirements as the industry develops in future years.
• The launch of Ipsos iris with monthly data from January 2023 was the culmination of extensive work by the IAB and its Measurement Council that commenced in early 2021 with a strategic review of industry requirements. Ipsos was awarded the IAB’s endorsement, having best met the standards on criteria across all areas of product along with criteria for operations and a future roadmap. 
• Further information can be found at: https://iris-au.ipsos.com/