83% of Iranian Online Shops Operate on Banned Platforms, Report Says

The online advertising platform Yektanet has released its 2023 report on Iran’s digital marketing landscape, revealing that the country’s digital ad market has reached nearly 11 trillion tomans, capturing over 20% of the total advertising market.

Beyond advertising statistics, the report also examines Iranian users' online presence and behavior. According to the findings, around 1.2 million Iranian shops were active on social media in 2023, with over 960,000 on Instagram and more than 110,000 on Telegram.

Among domestic platforms, Rubika leads with roughly 100,000 shops, but the combined total of shops on Iran’s four major platforms—Rubika, Rubino, Soroush+, and Bale—is just one-fifth of those on international platforms.

Despite Instagram and Telegram being banned in Iran, Yektanet’s report indicates that Iranians posted 570 million Instagram posts and 893 million public Telegram channel posts in 2023. This widespread engagement has led to 96% of Iranian businesses maintaining an Instagram presence.

Iranians Spend 4 Hours Online Daily

The report highlights that Iranian users spend an average of four hours per day online. In 2023, 94% of Persian web traffic came from mobile devices, while desktop usage dropped from 11% to just 4.3%.

Findings also reveal that over half of Iranian users check social media as their last activity before sleep and their first activity upon waking.

Banking, News, and Online Shopping Dominate Internet Use

Iranians primarily use the internet and social media for banking services, following news, and online shopping. The products with the highest online sales potential include clothing, books, and cosmetics, while toys, laptops, PCs, and jewelry see less interest in digital purchases.

Another notable insight: 85% of Iranians rely on messaging apps for news, while newspapers account for just 14% of news consumption.