According to the statistics websites, in 2021 there were 3.8 billion smartphone users. It is also said that in 2019 1370 million of these units were sold. Studies tell that each smartphone user spends an average of 3 hours and forty minutes in front of their phone, and most of this time is on the internet, whether on social networks or e-commerce. The increase in mobile web traffic has gone hand in hand with the decline in voice calls. In fact, millennials practically do not talk on the phone, they relate through messaging applications or social networks.
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The mobile surpasses the computer in web traffic
As for web traffic, 10 years ago, it came from connecting computers and, to a lesser extent, smartphones. According to an analysis by the SEO tool Semrush, in 2020 the organic traffic of the 1000 most visited websites in the world increased by 22%, which is not a small number. Of all those visits, 66% came from mobile devices and the remaining 34% from computers.
These numbers highlight the current takeover of mobile over desktop in terms of web traffic.
In those 10 years, the situation has been reversed: the dominant position that the computer occupied is now in the hands of smartphones.
Why mobile is overtaking desktop for web traffic
The mobile phone has become the only gateway to the internet for millions of people in the world, who have gone from not having a computer to buying a smartphone. The rapid expansion of mobile telephony in those countries before the arrival of smart devices has contributed to this. It has been a natural evolution.
On the other hand, the extension of the mobile network has been much faster and more homogeneous in all countries than fiber optic or conventional telephone networks. In many places, internet access is by mobile phone, not by landline.
Another reason for this superiority of mobile phones is their small size, which allows them to always be carried around, which is not the case with computers. You technically have laptops, which are portable, but you would usually carry them around for specific reasons. Most of the websites are adapted to mobile phones, they are responsive, and the user experience is very similar to the computer. With the smartphone, we can buy, communicate, entertain ourselves, and do many things without having to resort to a desktop computer.
Industries such as online gaming and gambling have taken full advantage of the technological leap cellphones made. You can play major games such as PUBG and call of duty from your smartphone, and even some big hits such as Among Us made their triumph in the mobile world.
On the gambling side, there are portals like VegasSlotsOnline where you can find the perfect new online casino, that can be reached on the net, where you can play the classic games or, if you prefer a better experience with a real croupier, you can choose the solid section of live dealer games. Furthermore, you have access to a different number of generous bonuses such as Match Bonuses or No Deposit Bonuses from the screen of your phone and make your deposits with the traditional payment methods or then a new option, the cryptocurrency payment.
Practical example: the traffic data of a European country eCommerce
An eCommerce for the sale of personalized products shared its data and the results, if we look at analytical tools, the change from 2012 to now, ten years later, is radical. In 2012, Only approximately 25% of the traffic came from mobile devices.
Now, it is exactly the other way around, and it is a desktop that has 25% of traffic (26.21%, to give the exact date). in this sense it was 2016: that was the first year in which, counting all annual traffic, mobile visits exceeded those of desktops for the first time. Since then the trend continues to grow and it seems that it will continue like this until one-day desktop (desktop computers) have a percentage, not residual, but quite small compared to mobiles and tablets.
With this data, it is easy to understand the evolution of mobile traffic in recent years and the decline of the computer in web browsing. The computer will continue to exist, but it will be reduced to a professional or student environment, while for personal communication or online shopping the big winner will be the smartphone.
Conclusion
Considering how affordable a good cellphone is these days, we should have totally seen this happening. Having access to all these commodities from our phones is fantastic progress for us as consumers as it is for companies, but we are more susceptible to the dark side of online shopping such as impulse purchases and fraud.
That said, progress in any field is always good. We are more communicated and globally engaged as ever before.
We have ease of access to products that are delivered to our homes, as well as information available for us to grow as human beings.
