Name three people that you know, that don’t own a mobile device.
Surprise, surprise, you can’t.
And what do we all use our devices for?
Surfing the web. Shopping. Playing games.
Oh, the million marketing opportunities that spring from that…
Have you ever wondered what percentage of internet traffic is mobile and how you can use it in your next marketing strategy?
We took the time to fish out the most recent and updated mobile traffic stats across various platforms to help with that!
Take a look:
Mind-Blowing Stats Regarding Mobile Internet Traffic
Listed below are some stats about the mobile industry that is sure to leave you captivated:
- Over 80% of internet users use mobile devices to surf the web.
- 83% of mobile users expect a flawless experience whenever they visit a website with any mobile device.
- Up to 70 percent of web traffic comes from mobile devices.
- 95.1% of active Facebook traffic comes from mobile devices.
- 57% of LinkedIn traffic comes from mobile.
- Mobile devices are responsible for more than 70% of watch time happening on YouTube.
- 90% of Twitter views happen on mobile.
- Google is responsible for 96% of search traffic coming from mobile.
- 80% of Alexa’s top-ranked websites are mobile-friendly.
Well, well, well.
Aren’t we a tiny bit addicted to our mobile devices?
Keep in mind that that’s not all:
Mobile Usage and Consumption Stats
The mobile industry has become almost impossible for business owners to overlook. This follows given the amount of time customers spend scrolling through the screen of their mobile devices these days.
People spend a considerable amount of time on their mobile devices, either communicating with friends and loved ones or executing online transactions. The following mobile device usage stats will provide more insight into these activities.
1. Mobile internet usage statistics reveal that people spend more than 5 hours a day on their mobile devices.
(Source: Blue Corona)
Not long ago, this figure stood a little above an hour – 1 hour, 22 minutes to be precise.
What changed?
The iPhone and Android devices came about.
Since the introduction of both the iPhone and Android devices, the mobile market has changed drastically. Coupled with unending designs and constant upgrades, these guys have made sure that users don’t look elsewhere for their online needs.
So.
The important question.
What percentage of internet traffic is mobile?
2. Up to 70 percent of web traffic comes from mobile devices.
(Source: Blue Corona)
Mobile phones are convenient to carry about while providing easy and quick access to needed information. Probably that’s why there are more than 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide.
Developing European nations and continents like Africa caught up with other parts of the world in terms of information and technological advancements with the aid of affordable mobile devices. This explains why the mobile industry is the most significant contributor to web traffic today.
3. 80% of Alexa’s top-ranked websites are mobile-friendly.
(Source: Impact BND)
Customers on mobile are not as patient as customers on other devices. They expect websites to load as fast as possible. They also want websites to be easily navigable and to provide whatever information is needed in no time.
For every second of delay, you lose a percentage of your site visitors. Plus, Google, which controls more than 90% of search traffic on the internet, prioritizes mobile-friendly sites.
Given what percentage of internet traffic is mobile, it’s simply vital to have a mobile-optimized website.
4. According to mobile internet statistics, 61% of mobile users will never return to a website if it is not mobile adaptive.
(Source: Impact BND)
As mentioned, you lose a percentage of site visitors for every delay in the loading time. What’s more, a huge number of your site visitors will not return to your website if their first experience was poor.
5. 80% of mobile users claim they are most likely to buy from companies with easy to navigate mobile sites and apps.
(Source: Aumcore)
Customers repay efficiency with loyalty. Hence, if your website meets the expectations of on first visit, nearly all customers are likely to make a purchase.
6. Mobile users are 60% less likely to purchase from a brand after a previously negative mobile experience.
(Source: Think With Google)
Mobile users are fast-paced buyers. Therefore, the buyer journey of every customer should be seamless. A deviation from this expectation will only bring about a further decline in your mobile web traffic and sales.
7. A positive experience on mobile increases the potential of getting recommended by a user by 89%.
(Source: Think With Google)
Aside from your digital marketing strategies, “word of mouth” is also an effective way of increasing brand popularity. What better way to kickstart this advertisement model than providing a seamless mobile experience to your customers?
8. Mobile browsing statistics show that a one-second delay of website responsiveness can reduce your site conversion by 7%.
(Source: Neil Patel)
Every second of load time counts when it comes to website conversion and speed. For every second of delay in responsiveness on your website, you lose money. More than 53% of your site visitors would have left your homepage if it took more than 3 seconds to load.
To show how severe these delays can be to your business, let us put them in numbers. If your website makes $100,000 in a day, and a one-second delay will reduce your daily conversion by 7%, then you would lose about $7,000 every day. A $7,000 loss every day for 365 days will amount to around $2.5 million in lost sales for the year. That is quite a considerable sum for any business to lose.
9. 83% of mobile users expect a flawless experience whenever they visit a website with any mobile device.
(Source: Business Service Week)
Regardless of the mobile device your customers are trying to access your website with, they still expect the experience to be seamless. You can’t afford to have a website that is optimized for smartphones, and not for tablets. That way, you would be losing some percentage of web traffic.
10. 80% of customers make use of their mobile device during physical shopping.
(Source: Business Service Week)
This could be to look up reviews of the product or to compare prices over the internet. Either way, modern-day shoppers love to delve into the online space. Plus, the ability to access millions of online reviews about a particular product is one feature many shoppers enjoy. Business owners can leverage this to boost their conversion rates.
Search on Mobile
With search engines like Google now prioritizing mobile-friendly websites, it is now important for businesses to ensure their sites are optimized for mobile. That will certainly boost their rankings on search engine result pages. Below are some mobile search statistics to help you understand how much your business stands to lose if your website isn’t designed for mobile:
11. 70 percent of search on mobile leads to an action in less than an hour.
(Source: Convince And Convert)
A high percentage of visits to your website through mobile searches will most likely lead to sales or inquiries. Especially if it is a local search. This is as a result of the immediate purchase intent nature of mobile users, irrespective of where they are. According to mobile search statistics, 51% of mobile users search for information when they are on the go. Another 53% search for information while they are at home. 41% search for product information while they are in-store.
12. Google is responsible for 96% of search traffic coming from mobile.
(Source: Blue Corona)
Over the years, Google has slowly taken over the majority of search traffic on the internet. During the first year of its launch in 1998, Google was amassing ten thousand search queries in a day. As of 2006, Google was already processing ten thousand searches per second. Fast forward to 2020, and that figure has skyrocketed to over 400,000 searches per second – that is about 3.5 billion searches per day. That’s certainly some massive growth.
13. According to mobile phone usage statistics, mobile accounts for 69% of the time users spend on media.
(Source: Blue Corona)
In 2018, the number of online traffic generated on mobile was just 52.2%. But today, due to the ever-increasing rate of mobile phone users, that number has increased tremendously. It is expected to rise even further.
14. 70% of mobile searchers who have made a purchase online recently have placed a call to a business from the search result page.
(Source: Google Blog)
People go on search engines to get information concerning their problems, doubts, and challenges. For mobile users, the purchase intent of these searches is even higher. With access to over 2 million websites and more than 90% of internet users, Google is sure to provide an answer to almost any search query. A good way for business owners to leverage this is to make their contact details available right on the search engine result page. This will most likely result in increased conversions.
Is Video the Fav Content of Mobile Users?
Social media platforms and websites are generating more traffic from mobile now more than ever. One of the most viewed contents across these platforms is video content. Platforms like Facebook now have a dedicated page where users can get access to the countless number of videos from across the world. Check out the mobile traffic stats below to gain more insight into the amount of video traffic coming from mobile devices:
15. Mobile is responsible for more than 70% of watch time happening on YouTube.
(Source: Business2Community)
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the amount of time we spend on our mobile phones. YouTube is optimized for mobile by default.
16. Mobile internet statistics reveal that users spend an average of 40 minutes a day on YouTube watching videos on their mobile.
(Businesss2Community)
YouTube has more than 1 billion hours of video views per day from users around the globe, and over two billion active users. When these figures are compared, it becomes evident that each user spends a significant amount of time on YouTube daily.
17. AdWeek discovered an 88% growth after every year in the amount of time users spend watching videos on a smartphone.
(Businesss2Community)
Given the amount of time that consumers spend on their mobile phones these days, this stat shouldn’t come as a surprise. Video is the most preferred form of content. Hence, when given the opportunity, the majority of users will always go for video content. That is why apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat have gone viral with exponential growth over a short period in recent years.
E-commerce and Mobile Stats
For convenience and ease of access, people now prefer to shop and carry out other online activities using their mobile. With the rate of growth of online transactions on mobile, experts predict that mobile devices should make up all or most e-commerce transactions. Below are some facts to help you understand the rate of mobile growth in the e-commerce industry:
18. M-commerce should account for 53.9% of all e-commerce sales by 2021.
(Source: Statista)
Mobile device usage statistics reveal that m-commerce made up 39.6% of all e-commerce sales as of 2018. In 2019, that number stood at 44.7% of all e-commerce sales and is expected to increase even further up to 53.9% by 2021. All thanks to the ever-increasing mobile phone users and the convenience provided by the countless number of mobile apps and websites that enable customers to easily carry out e-commerce transactions.
19. Over the last two to three years, 70% of B2B buyers increased mobile usage substantially.
(Source: Boston Consulting Group)
B2B companies are not left behind, especially when it comes to the adoption of mobile devices in the workplace. Statistics show that the number of B2B transactions taking place on mobile has increased significantly in the past few years. What’s more, 60% of B2B buyers predict that their mobile usage will continually increase.
20. In 2016, advertisers and marketers invested 51% of their budget into mobile ads.
(Source: Impact BND)
Platforms like Facebook generate over 90% of its revenue from mobile ads. Between 2012 and 2019, Facebook increased its mobile ad revenue from 11% of its global revenue to a whopping 98.5%. Other social platforms like Snapchat also have more than 90% of its revenue coming from mobile ads. This shows the level of importance marketers and advertisers attributing to mobile ads.
21. According to mobile internet statistics, 71% of marketers claim that mobile marketing is central to their business.
(Source: Feedough)
Over the last few years, there has been a surge in mobile marketing through various channels such as mobile ads, mobile apps, and in-app advertising, amongst others. This follows as businesses are beginning to realize the potential of the mobile industry.
22. 68% of companies have incorporated mobile marketing into their overall marketing strategy.
(Source: Educate Direct)
A substantial number of businesses around the world already have mobile marketing as a core player in their overall marketing strategy.
Mobile Stats on Social Media
Social media can be quite addictive. It provides a cheaper alternative to keep in touch with family and friends, while also staying updated with happenings around the world. Coupled with easy access, exciting content, and easy-to-navigate platforms, it is not surprising to see how many are flocking towards social media daily. Check out the stats that follow to get more insights:
23. Mobile internet usage statistics reveal that users spend more than 2 hours per day on an average, using social media apps on their mobile.
(Source: Medium)
Like it or not, social media has taken over our lives. Between 2012 and 2020, there has been a massive 62.5% increase in the average time spent online by social media users. That is about one hour plus of increased social media time daily. Currently, the average time spent on social media by a user every day hovers around 144 minutes.
24. Social media apps are the most used on mobile – they make up 39% of the whole.
(Source: Medium)
Social media apps like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, WeChat, TikTok, Twitter, Tumblr are some of the most familiar apps that you will find on almost all mobile users’ smartphones. Facebook, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram alone have about 16 billion downloads on mobile devices cumulatively. They are all owned by the Facebook company.
25. 95.1% of active Facebook traffic comes from mobile devices.
(Source: Blue Corona)
As of 2018, the percentage of Facebook mobile traffic stood at 91%. Within a year and some months, that number has increased by about 3.1% and currently stands at 95.1%. What’s more, experts predict that that figure should rise above 98% by the end of 2020.
26. Mobile devices are responsible for 57% of LinkedIn traffic.
(Source: LinkedIn)
In 2016, LinkedIn became one of the first companies to prioritize mobile-first. Today, that move has proved to be a clever one – more than half of its traffic now stems from mobile devices. After the implementation of the mobile-first policy, LinkedIn’s mobile activity overall experienced a growth that is 3x faster than the overall member activity year-in-year-out.
Email and Mobile Traffic
Email has been in existence for as long as the ’70s, and up to date, it is still one of the most preferred means of communication. Fast forward to 2022, and you will discover that mobile devices have made email communication even more accessible. People no longer have to sit in front of desktop screens to access their email accounts – all that can now be done through mobile devices.
27. Mobile device usage statistics report a 180% rise in the number of emails opened on mobile over the past three years.
(Source: Impact BND)
As at the end of 2019, mobile was responsible for 61.9% of open email rates. 28.3% were webmail clients and the remaining 9.8% – were desktop users. Over 40% of consumers now prefer to check their email through mobile devices. As of 2013, the open email rate for mobile stood at 33%. Compare that figure to what we have now (61.9%), and you’d be shocked.
28. 60% of users make use of smartphones to check their work emails.
(Source: Email Monday)
GenZ and Millennials have a high predilection for checking their emails on smartphones.
29. 81% of email recipients prefer to open emails on mobile devices.
(Source: Campaign Monitor)
After extensive research, experts have concluded that recipients prefer to open their emails on mobile. What’s more, mobile users tend to check their emails three times more than any other device user.
App Usage on Mobile
Applications are one of the significant driving forces pioneering the usage of mobile across various industries. Almost every online business today has an app. The banks, social media platforms, insurance firms, gaming industries, digital marketing agencies, еtc have apps for customers to download and have easy access to their customized services. The following mobile app usage statistics will expound more on how vital these apps have become to the mobile industry:
30. 35% of mobile users say they want more personalized apps and websites.
(Source: Medium)
Personalization is one key component that drives sales on mobile. It provides an excellent user experience for your visitors. In this era, customers expect targeted marketing because it makes them feel important or special.
31. More than 80% of the time spent on mobile devices is spent on apps.
(Source: Smart Insights)
Mobile apps like Facebook, Instagram, etc., consume most of the time users spend on mobile devices. The availability of high-quality content, ease of accessibility to critical features, and organized presentation of details are among the many reasons why people invest a significant portion of their time on their smartphones.
Gaming on Mobile
Gaming on Mobile has come a long way over the years. From the Tetris variant on Hagenuk MT-2000 in 1994 to Snake Xenia on Nokia devices in 1997, down to the Temple Run game on Android smartphone devices, the tech associated with mobile games has been on an upward rise. Today, more people are mobile gamers than you would have ever thought possible decades ago.
32. According to mobile device usage statistics, over 2.2 Billion people play mobile games worldwide.
(Tech Fruit)
Do you know what this means?
The mobile gaming industry is worth billions of dollars. 62% of users will download a game on their devices within one week of purchasing the said device. Games like Fortnite, Clash of Clans, Pokemon Go and Clash Royale are some of the most downloaded apps on mobile today.
33. The mobile game industry is currently worth $68.5 billion and represents 45% of the entire gaming industry.
(Newzoo)
Mobile games like Candy Crush and Fortnite alone have daily revenues of up to $1 million from in-app purchases alone. Countries like China lead the way in the mobile gaming market, with a yearly income of up to $41.5 billion.
34. According to mobile phone usage statistics, 10% of the time spent using mobile apps is dedicated to games.
(Tech Crunch)
Social and communication apps lead the way in terms of time spent on mobile devices (50%). Other apps like video and editor apps come second at 15%, with mobile games coming in at third place (10%).
Mobile vs. Desktop
In recent times, we have seen more people flock toward mobile. However, not all stats are in favor of mobile devices. The following stats aim to compare mobile data and desktop data:
35. The global conversion rate of mobile devices is 1.32%, and that of desktop devices is 3.82%.
(Source: Web FX)
Mobile vs desktop internet traffic statistics show that although users spend more time on mobile devices than they do on desktop and tablet devices combined, the conversion rate is still higher on desktops.
36. The average bounce rate for mobile is around 45%, while that of desktop is 38%.
(Source: Oracle Tree)
The bounce rate of desktop computers is far better than that of mobile. However, it is also worth noting that the mobile bounce rate declined from 52% in 2016 to 38% at the end of 2019. This shows potential for the mobile industry in terms of increased conversion.
Security on Mobile Stats
So how secure are mobile devices?
Drumrolls – Please!
37. Only 10% of Android devices are encrypted.
(ARS Technica)
95% of Apple devices are successfully encrypted.
However.
9 in 10 Android devices with an Android version lower than Android 5.0 are at risk of cybercrime, hacking and other forms of malicious online activities.
38. According to mobile phone usage statistics, 84% of smartphone users say privacy or security of information is an essential factor when deciding whether to install an app.
(Source: Think With Google)
Customers don’t like their private information floating around the web into unwanted territories. The majority of users say that they would prefer not to install an app on their mobile device if it has privacy or security issues.
Wrap Up
These days mobile phones are as much part of us as are our arms. It seems like we can’t live without them.
Now that we found out what percentage of internet traffic is mobile, one thing is clear:
It’s vital for your marketing strategy to be mobile-oriented too. Mobile-friendly websites, mobile-optimized adds, creative apps – you name it.
So.
What’s your first step gonna be?
Sources
Timeline Of The Article
Muninder Adavelli is a core team member and Digital Growth Strategist at Techjury. With a strong background in marketing and a deep understanding of technology's role in digital marketing, he brings immense value to the TechJury team.