Mobile devices to ramp 75% of Internet use by 2017

Mobile devices will account for 75% of global Internet use in 2017, according to a new report predicting the shift underway in the online landscape.

Zenith, an agency owned by French advertising and public relations company, Publicis Groupe made this forecast in a new report titled: Mobile Advertizing Forecasts.

According to writers of the report who reveal that their facts were gathered from mobile advertising and technology research in 60 key countries around the world, the mobile proportion of Internet use has increased rapidly from 40% in 2012 to 68% in 2016, and will reach 79% by 2018 and this increase in mobile Internet use is being driven by the rapid rise in the penetration of mobile devices

]Noting that in 2012, just 23% of people in the 60 markets were the research were carried out had a smartphone, and 4% had a tablet, writers of the report reveals that Smartphone penetration has now reached 56%, and increase of 2.4 times over four years, and it will rise to 63% by 2018.[/quote]Noting that in 2012, just 23% of people in the 60 markets were the research were carried out had a smartphone, and 4% had a tablet, writers of the report reveals that Smartphone penetration has now reached 56%, and increase of 2.4 times over four years, and it will rise to 63% by 2018.

Tablets, unlike smartphones are more of a luxury item and have not spread nearly so widely: they are owned by 15% of people in the 60 markets now but penetration is expected to reach 17% in 2018, writers of the report predicts.

The report further predicts that in 2018, mobile advertising will account for 60% of all internet advertising: 2018 mobile advertising expenditure will total US$134billion, which is more than that of newspaper, magazine, cinema and outdoor advertising put together.

In a previous report (September 2016), Zenith predicted that mobile advertising will overtake desktop advertising in 2017, increasing its share of global internet advertising to 52% from 44% this year. following this prediction, Zenith advises all advertising brands to become mobile-first in their digital communication: all assets from brand websites to video ads should be built to deliver the best and most effective experiences on mobile devices.

Noting that during the day consumers shift their attention from tablet to desktop to smartphone, sometimes while watching TV, Zenith also advices Advertisers to think about consumer mobility, not just mobile devices and also to build brand experiences that are coherent across screens and devices.

Zenith also recommends that advertisers consider the full mobile ecosystem, including smartwatches, activity trackers and other smart devices, when planning their communications, explaining that consumers tend to use the more specialist devices on very specific occasions, giving advertisers the opportunity to target these moments of their life with precision.

“Mobile devices are already the primary means of accessing the internet across the world. Countries in Western Europe, Asia and North America are leading the transition, but mobile technology is spreading rapidly everywhere. Next year mobile devices will become the main vehicle for internet advertising as well”, Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting at Zenith says