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Smartphone Snapshot: Mobile vs Desktop Usage Statistics Today
Updated: May 20,2022
The problem is we still call them phones. These days the smart devices that fit in our pockets can do nearly everything. Beat you at chess? Check. Suggest the best bars around? Yep. Give medical advice after you’ve had a bit too much at said bar? Sure. Help you find your soulmate? Why, of course! Some people even use them for calling or messaging other people. We are rapidly ditching big cumbersome desktop machines for portable computers we take with us everywhere.
But don’t just take my word for it - let’s dive into the latest mobile vs desktop usage statistics and get a closer look.
Mobile vs Desktop Internet Usage Statistics
The first section of our desktop vs mobile usage stats will focus on mobile vs desktop traffic in 2019, 2020 and beyond. We will check out the mobile browsing market share, take a look at global desktop traffic, and make a web traffic comparison between mobile and desktop devices.
1. There are over 4.5 billion internet users worldwide.
(Internet World Stats)
2. Mobile device traffic accounts for over half (51.51%) of global online traffic.
(Statista)
3. There are more than 4 billion unique mobile internet users in the world.
(Statista)
4. Global mobile data is set to nearly double between 2020 and 2022.
(Statista)
5. Mobile phone penetration among internet users in the United States will reach 92% by 2021.
(Statista)
6. The average US user will spend around three hours and 49 minutes on their mobile devices in 2020.
(eMarketer)
7. Mobile users spend less total time on websites (42%) than on desktop devices. (58%).
(Perficient)
8. People spend an average of 11.52 minutes per website visit from their desktop computers.
(Perficient)
9. Users on mobile devices spend an average of 5.95 minutes browsing a site.
(Perficient)
10. The mobile bounce rate websites is more than double the desktop bounce rate. (67.4% vs 32.6%).
(Perficient)
11. People on desktop computers view more pages per website visit than those on mobile devices (57.7% vs 42.3%).
(Perficient)
12. The average desktop user views nearly ten (9.84) web pages per visit.
(Perficient)
13. A typical mobile user views just over five (5.15) web pages per visit.
(Perficient)
Mobile vs Desktop Search Statistics
In this short section we will look at desktop and mobile usage statistics on web searches. As far as website traffic goes, Google is the dominant force on the market. Thus, when talking about search results we will be mostly referring to their Search Engine Results Page (SERP) numbers.
14. Mobile devices account for 60% of all organic search engine visits in the United States.
(Statista)
15. By 2023, mobile search ad revenue in the United States is expected to reach $22.71 billion.
(Statista)
16. Over three quarters (76%) of keywords and half of those in the top 20 search results (47%) are different for mobile and desktop searches.
(BrightEdge)
17. The best ranking page on desktop and mobile SERPs is different 35% of the time.
(BrightEdge)
Mobile vs Desktop eCommerce Statistics
This section is mostly concerned with online shopping. We will take a peek at eCommerce mobile traffic vs desktop traffic in 2019 and look at mobile vs desktop usage from 2017 onwards. Mobile usage stats are improving each year, but desktops still have the edge when it comes to conversions and revenue generated.
18. 53% of online shopping traffic comes from mobile phones.
(Wolfgang Digital)
19. The conversion rate on desktops (4.81%) is more than double than on smartphones (2.25%).
(SaleCycle)
20. The Add-to-cart rate is higher on desktop devices (12.9%) than on smartphones (10.4%).
(SaleCycle)
21. 37% of traffic on eCommerce websites is generated by desktop users.
(Wolfgang Digital)
22. 10% of all shopping traffic online originates from smart tablets.
(Wolfgang Digital)
23. 32% of online shopping revenue comes from mobile phones.
(Wolfgang Digital)
24. 56% of revenue on eCommerce websites is generated by desktop users.
(Wolfgang Digital)
25. 12% of all shopping revenue online originates from smart tablets.
(Wolfgang Digital)
26. Mobile traffic accounted for 81% of all shopping traffic on Shopify in the third quarter of 2019.
(Shopify)
27. 71% of all orders on Shopify in the third quarter of 2019 came from mobile devices.
(Shopify)
Mobile vs Desktop Social Media Statistics
Social media stats. You need ‘em - we’ve got ‘em. Facebook mobile vs desktop usage, YouTube on mobile, LinkedIn mobile vs desktop usage, YouTube on desktop devices. We’ve even got Twitter mobile vs desktop usage stats. In short, this next section is all about the percentage of mobile users that popular social networks have. It shows just how important smartphones are for social networking sites and how little of their traffic comes from desktop computers.
28. There are over 3.7 billion active social media users in the world.
(Statista)
29. 3.66 billion social media users are active on mobile devices.
(Statista)
30. Mobile devices account for more than 80% of all social media browsing.
(Smart Insights)
31. 96% of users access Facebook via mobile devices.
(Statista)
32. 25% of Facebook users worldwide access the site from desktop or laptop devices.
(Statista)
33. 85% of people on Pinterest access the site from a mobile device.
(Pinterest)
34. Mobile devices account for 60% of all LinkedIn traffic.
(Fortune)
35. 80% of users access Twitter via smartphones or tablets.
(Google)
Mobile vs. Desktop Video Statistics
This section of our mobile vs desktop usage statistics is all about video. We will take a look at desktop and mobile browsing stats on YouTube and other popular video sharing websites. The key takeaway when comparing mobile vs desktop usage in 2019 is that people watched more videos using mobile internet but tended to watch longer videos on desktop devices.
36. 52% of all global video views come from smartphone devices.
(Brightcove)
37. Mobile devices account for more than 70% of time spent watching YouTube videos.
(YouTube)
38. 10% of all video views worldwide come from tablets.
(BrightCove)
39. Desktop viewing accounts for 59.9% of all time spent watching videos online.
(Business 2 Community)
40. 40.1% of the total time spent watching online videos comes from mobile devices.
(Business 2 Community)
41. Video ad viewability is much higher on mobile (83%) than desktop devices (53%).
(Business 2 Community)
Mobile vs. Desktop Gaming Statistics
When it comes to mobile vs desktop usage, gaming is another category in which mobile has started taking over in recent years. While traditional gamers tend to look down on mobile gaming, the number of smartphone users in the US who use their phones to play video games is growing each year.
42. Mobile gaming is a $68.5 billion industry.
(Newzoo)
43. The mobile gaming segment accounts for 45% of the global video game industry.
(Newzoo)
44. The global gaming industry will become a $196 billion market by 2022, and $95.4 billion will come from mobile games.
(Newzoo)
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
3.2 billion people around the world. There are over 5 billion cell phone owners worldwide, and over half of those phones are smartphones.
China. With over 850 million smartphone users, China has a sizeable lead on India (345 million) and the United States (260 million).
It’s very unlikely that smartphones will ever replace desktop devices. Both mediums have their own perks when it comes to accessibility. In fact, experts claim that both types of devices will be one day replaced by virtual reality.
Compose short subject lines and use a large font size. Also, it helps to use a single-column template and shorten the content as much as you can. When considering mobile vs desktop usage scenarios, you need to take into account the specifics of mobile devices (smaller screens, different user interface, etc.).
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A true tech and gaming savant, Ivan has been fascinated by the digital world since the early days of gaming on antiques such as the ZX Spectrum and Commodore’s beloved Amiga. Whether you’re interested in the latest PC and console gaming news, antivirus software, or smartphone reviews, or simply want to learn about the newest geeky gadgets around, we at KT have you covered, and Ivan’s likely the one we’ll ask.
