How Mobile Is Overtaking Desktop in Global Online Media Consumption [Infographic]

Stacey Rudolph — November 29, 2016

— November 29, 2016

According to recent studies, the amount of time people use on their smartphones is set to skyrocket this year as well as the coming years. Already, 52.7% of internet users access internet via their mobile devices. This means that the majority of internet users prefer mobile devices to their desktops.

Mobile internet usage is now growing at the expense of internet usage as well as all other media. It is also projected that the use of desktop will drop by almost 16% when it comes toaccessing the internet. Likewise, radio, newspapers, magazines and television will see further declines this year.

So this is an opportunity for marketers to capitalize on the expansion of mobile internet usage by investing heavily on online brand recognition and making their sites responsive.

But this is not to say that desktop is no longer important. Majority of website engagement still take place via the desktop versions. As a matter of fact, most e-commerce purchases are still taking place on the desktop, and many major brands still treat the desktop as the main area of focus. Therefore, multi-platform strategy is the way to go.

Having said that, here are a few essential mobile use behavior that will interest marketers

Mobile internet usage normally peaks during mornings and evenings. It is important to understand how your users divide their time on multiple devices. According to research conducted by Financial Times and Microsoft, mobile usage activities normally peak during mornings and evenings—6 A.M and 9 A.M, and 6 P.M and 9.M respectively. So if you want increase your conversions, this is the best time to send your email campaigns.
Most mobile users are the millennial. As you design your mobile responsive site, it is important to bear in mind that most mobile users are younger. Over 85% of millennial own a smartphone. Hence, these are the ones who are more likely to spend time browsing on their mobile devices compared to users over the age of 30. According to research, this group tend to be more respective to brand content compared to those who use the desktop. However, older people are also joining the mobile bandwagon at a high rate.
Most users will research on mobile and purchase on desktop. Like we said, you shouldn’t write off desktop yet. After most users have made their purchase decision through the mobile devices, they are most likely to purchase via the PC.
Mobile users prefer not to type. As you design your mobile site, find creative ways to reduce the need for the user to type. For instance, you can avoid the need to type by introducing social media logins.

Following the rise in mobile phone usage, Google also prefers mobile optimized websites. Make sure that you have taken into consideration all relevant customer experiences to get higher ranking.

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