Who will come out on top in 2017? Mobile or Desktop?

I’m sure that it isn’t news to you that mobile usage is booming and is expected to dominate in 2017 and beyond. GO-Globe has put together an infographic that talks about some of the trends relating to mobile internet usage – and what this means for desktop internet usage. Savvy marketers are advised to pay attention!

Here’s the thing: by 2018, nearly 80% of internet usage will be mobile. Currently, over half (52.7%) of global internet users access the internet using mobile devices.

Estimated global mobile traffic is expected to sharply increase over the next four years:

  • 2017: 9.9 exabytes per month
  • 2018: 14.9 exabytes per month
  • 2019: 21.7 exabytes per month
  • 2020: 30.6 exabytes per month

In October 2016, global mobile and tablet internet usage flew past desktop internet usage for the first time – it rose to 51.3% of the usage worldwide v. 48.7% for desktop. Now, mobile devices account for 65% of all digital media time with desktop lagging behind at 35%.

Different content types attract different users on different platforms, though. Let’s take a look at the time spent on various content types broken down into mobile v. desktop:

  • Portal: 69% on mobile and 31% on desktop
  • Business/finance: 58% on mobile and 42% on desktop
  • Entertainment/news: 51% on mobile and 49% on desktop
  • Health information: 46% on mobile and 54% on desktop
  • News/information: 44% on mobile and 56% on desktop
  • Sports: 39% on mobile and 61% on desktop
  • Retail: 38% on mobile and 62% on desktop
  • Lifestyle: 36% on mobile and 64% on desktop
  • Personals: 23% on mobile and 77% on desktop
  • Social networking: 21% on mobile and 79% on desktop
  • Online gaming: 12% on mobile and 88% on desktop
  • Photos: 8% on mobile and 92% on desktop
  • Maps: 6% on mobile and 94% on desktop

While desktop internet usage still clearly has some fight left in it, marketers have already begun looking to the future – by 2019, mobile advertising is predicted to jump up to 72.2% of all digital advertising spend.

With the move to mobile, we need to be aware and move forward with mobile-first strategies. How are you changing your lead generation strategies and tactics to be mobile first? Let me know in the comments!