Welcome to UKOM's Online Market Overview for March 2026. Using UKOM endorsed data
from Ipsos iris, the OMO provides a top-line snapshot of the UK population’s online
behaviour across computers, tablets and smartphones.
Key insights this month include:
- Rising fuel prices drove a surge in visitors to PetrolPrices with its monthly audience
jumping from 2m in February to 5.6m in March. - Airspace closures and widespread flight cancellations boosted engagement for Gulf
carriers including Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates as travellers sought updates
and alternative routes. - 2m people visited the HBO Max website in March following the launch of its new
streaming service on March 26th while 425K used the app in the first few days. - After regional beta-testing, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com fully launched
Joybuy in the UK on 16 th March. In March 2026 it had 1m website and 419K app
users. Chinese retailers Shein and Temu are now in the top 5 online retailers in the
UK by time spent. - Major sporting events throughout March significantly boosted online audiences
across rugby (Six Nations), athletics (Indoor World Championships), motorsport
(F1 launch), and horse racing (Cheltenham Festival). Sports betting also
increased, with average daily audiences during Cheltenham Festival days (10th-13 th
March) 45% higher than the rest of the month. - As is typical early in the year, the homes & property (+2.6m), careers (+1.8m) and
automotive (+1.5m) categories added most audience between Dec ’25 and Mar ‘26.
Seasonal flu, the meningitis outbreak and end of tax year contributed to increases for
Government services with gov.uk increasing by 3.1m and an additional 2.3m using
online services from the NHS. - Finally, despite global instability, holiday planning remained a priority. The hotels &
home sharing audience was up by 3.7m vs December and 2.5m more people visited
online travel agents. Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Airbnb and Jet2 all ranked
among the top 20 online brands adding the most audience between December and
March.
For more information on the UK online market including the top online brands and apps and how usage varies by audience and device, please read or download the whole report below.
More information on Ipsos iris here.
