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What Percentage of Internet Traffic is Mobile?

All over the world, people are using their mobile devices for web browsing and online shopping more than ever. In order to make sure that your target audience doesn’t bounce off to your competitor’s mobile-friendly website or app, you need to take the leap and get your business ready to cater to a mobile audience. 

The good news is:

You can easily beat your competition by investing in responsive websites and applications! 

Below are some of the most crucial statistics on mobile traffic, including what percentage of internet traffic is mobile and the usage patterns to help you develop a good understanding so that you can take relevant steps to compete with an edge. 

Let’s dive right in.

Fascinating Mobile Traffic Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

  • 45.12% of the world population owns smartphones.
  • There has been a 40% growth in smartphone users globally.
  • In Q1 2019, almost 48.71% of internet traffic worldwide was generated from mobile devices.
  • The average internet usage over the phone in the US is approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes per day, which is expected to grow to 11 hours/day this year.
  • Over 50% of search engine queries generated worldwide come from mobile devices.
  • Google now enables mobile-first indexing by default.
  • 60% of smartphone users have tried voice search at least once in the past year. 
  • 63% of mobile traffic is videos.
  • YouTube accounts for approximately 70% of all mobile traffic.

Mobile Percentage of Internet Traffic— Mobile Usage and Consumption Stats

Mobile phones have become a necessity over time. In fact, they are now readily being used for practically every purpose, such as researching products, shopping, socializing, reviewing products and services, and more. 

Here’s a quick overview of some interesting statistics that I have collected from different sites and studies to show you how people use mobiles nowadays. 

1. 45.12% of the world population of the world owns smartphones.

(Bankmycell)

That’s nearly half of the world population—almost 3.5 billion smartphone users. After learning this statistic about how many phone users exist today, it made me wonder:

How is it growing? See the next statistic to find out…

2. There has been a 40% growth in smartphone users globally.

(Statista)

This percentage depicts the growth between 2016 and 2020. A 40% growth in just 4 years shows that the user base is increasing exponentially. So, it is crucial for businesses to strengthen their mobile presence to capture a good market share. Now let’s see how often are phones used in terms of generating mobile internet traffic, shall we?

3. In the Q1 2019, almost 48.71% of internet traffic worldwide was generated from mobile devices.

(Statista)

This is a clear indication of the shift in mobile browsing statistics. So, if you don’t make your business mobile-friendly, you could end up losing a good piece of the profit pie to your competitors. 

4. The average internet usage over the phone in the US is approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes per day, which is expected to grow to 11 hours/day this year.

(Vox.com)

If you were thinking about how much time is spent on mobiles, then here is your answer.  This is one of the most important mobile device usage statistics that online business owners should know. If people are spending so much time on their mobile phones browsing the internet, then this is definitely the market you can’t miss, as it presents tons of opportunities to grow your business. 

Search on Mobile

Now that we are clear about how many mobile devices are there in the world, let’s take a deeper dive to learn in detail about how this percentage of mobile users searches the Web. 

Did you know that:

5. Over 50% of search engine queries generated worldwide come from mobile devices.

(Search Engine Land)  

These include both smartphones and tablets, which means that people across the world are using different types of mobile devices to access the Web. It made me want to find out about the most used search terms on mobiles. Although I couldn’t find the exact terms, I did find out about the most and least searched categories. Read the next mobile phone usage statistic to learn more about these categories.

6. The majority of mobile searches are for the food and beverage industry, while the banking sector is least popular.

(Search Engine Land)

According to mobile search statistics, the most popular category on Google is the food and beverage industry at 72%, while the least searched category is banking at 39%. 

From these statistics, we can easily tell that people are shifting to their mobile phones for product and service searches. No wonder the mobile-first index is a priority now. Read on to learn more about it.

7. Google now enables mobile-first indexing by default.

(Neil Patel

When discussing what percentage of internet traffic is mobile, we have to point out that Google implemented mobile-first indexing from July 1, 2019. This practice uses the mobile version of the content to index and rank sites. It is enabled by default for all new websites. 

So, if you have a new business website, make sure that it is both mobile and SEO-friendly. This will help get your website a higher ranking on the search engine page results. 

Another interesting statistic I found was about voice search on mobile. Read on to learn more:

8. 60% of smartphone users have tried voice search at least once in the past year. 

(Quora Creative

This shows a growing trend in voice-based searches online. In fact, it is expected to become a market worth a whopping $40 billion in the next two years. 

Video on Mobile Stats

When searching for mobile traffic and what people use it for, I was amazed to see stats for video usage on mobile devices. These statistics are definitely worth knowing, as they can help you strategize better when targeting mobile traffic. Continue reading to get more details.

9. According to mobile internet statistics, 63% of mobile internet traffic is videos.

(AdColony

This is nearly two-thirds of web traffic! Moreover, this figure will grow to a remarkable 79% by 2022—a nine-time increase since 2017! Keeping all this in consideration, it won’t be wrong to say that right now videos are the primary drivers of the massive increase in mobile usage. 

10. YouTube accounts for approximately 70% of all mobile traffic.

(Oberlo)

The statistic stated above answers the question: 

What percentage of YouTube traffic is mobile

70% is nearly a third of all mobile traffic. Let’s take a look at other statistics about the searches on YouTube. 

11. YouTube is the 2nd most visited site and search engine.

(Brand Watch

With an increasing number of people watching videos on mobile devices, it is no surprise that YouTube ranks as the second-most visited search engine after Google. 

12. 62% of businesses use YouTube.

(Oberlo)

As more than half of the businesses are using YouTube to promote their products and services through video content, so should you. In order to engage and attract more mobile traffic and create brand awareness, start posting video content on YouTube today!

Ecommerce on Mobile

Online shopping via mobile phones is the latest trend today, which can’t be overlooked or denied. Here are some statistics that I have found that show that the ecommerce industry is now transforming into the m-commerce industry. 

13. In 2017, mobile commerce sales were $156 billion and are expected to reach $420 billion by 2021.

(Build Fire

This shows an expected growth of a mind-blowing $264 billion by next year. This mobile e-commerce prediction indicates its growing popularity and consumer spending trend. As mobile shoppers spend twice as much as other customers, m-commerce sales will reach (if not exceed) $420 by 2021.

14. A mobile-friendly website increases the chances of a customer to convert into a sale by 67%.

(Build Fire)

If you don’t have a mobile-friendly website yet, it’s high time you did something about it! If a mobile-friendly site can increase your chances of customer conversion a massive two-thirds, imagine the ROI it can bring your business in the long run.

Social Media and Email Usage on Mobile

Here’s a quick overview of mobile usage for accessing social media pages and emails:

15. 98% of Facebook users access the platform from any mobile phone.

(Statista

Facebook is indeed the biggest social media platform worldwide. Its accessibility via multiple mobile apps as well as its mobile website plays a crucial role in its ability to attract such huge Facebook mobile traffic.

16. 61% of users in North America access social media in North America via mobile devices.

(Statista)

In comparison, the social media penetration rate via mobile phones globally is around 34%. By looking at this statistic, we can easily see that social media users are now actively accessing their accounts through their mobile phones more often than through their desktop computers.

17. 55% of emails are opened on mobile devices.

(Return Path

This particular statistic clears my question: 

What percentage of emails is opened on mobile

Clearly, people are using mobile phones not just to shop but also to open their emails. What’s more, marketers can use this statistic to their advantage by investing in email marketing, especially when targeting a mobile audience. 

Mobile App Usage Statistics

Along with a mobile-friendly website, your business also needs to invest in creating smart and user-friendly mobile applications for all the right reasons. Not only does it provide an alternative way for m-commerce consumers to shop, but studies also reveal that users spend the majority of their mobile time using apps.

As mentioned above: 

The average internet usage over the mobile is 3 hours and 15 minutes, and you’ll be amazed to learn how mobile users prefer apps over a mobile browser. Take a look at some of the mobile web vs. app usage traffic statistics that I have gathered for you:

18. 51% of people access mobile apps nearly 10x, facts about what percentage of internet traffic is mobile reveal. 

(Build Fire

This is astonishing. Who knew? Ten times in a day means that you have nearly ten opportunities to convert a prospect into sale if you have a mobile app. Isn’t that great?

19. The mobile shopping app usage is 48% higher than average.

(Build Fire

Based on this statistic, it is clearly evident that shopping mobile apps rank better than all other categories.

Mobile vs. Desktop Internet Usage in 2019

Ever since the advent of smart phones, mobile usage has surpassed desktop usage greatly as the way people browse, shop, and use the internet for other activities. Here are some mobile vs. desktop internet traffic statistics:

20. Mobile user share increased by 10% from 2018-19.

(StatCounter)

Between 2018 and 2019, mobile user share increased from 37.38% to 48.33%. This makes me wonder if this shift impacted desktop usage. Let’s find out.

21. Desktop usage decreased by 8.36% between 2018-19.

(StatCounter)

The increase in mobile usage led to a decline in desktop usage over the same one-year span, marking a drop from 54.86% to 46.5%.

22. Desktop media consumption has declined by 11% in the last five years.

(Broadband Search

This is because more people have mobiles now, which gives them the power to access the Web more conveniently from anywhere and at any time. 

Wrap up

Based on the latest statistics on what percentage of internet traffic is mobile and consumer shopping patterns, the major uptick in m-commerce is obvious. 

Bottom line:

If you want to grow your business sales and compete with a sustainable edge, you need to focus on mobile marketing and mobile apps. Through robust mobile apps, you can ensure strong user engagement and boost your sales dramatically.

Sources:

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